Berkshire on Stage

by Emily Edelman

Shakespeare & Company’s Circus & the Bard: A Tempest Tossed” is a collaboration with Sarasota, Florida-based Spirit of the Circus and juxtaposes Shakespeare’s dialogue with circus acts in an exciting and complementary way.

This year’s iteration — last year’s version took inspiration from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream — is all about “The Tempest,” and the family-friendly offering features three Company members depicting passages from the play interspersed with circus acts that emphasize or underscore points being made in the text. These acts include Jan “Yahn” Damm on the rolla bolla soon after the line “hell is empty and all the devils are here”; Justin Durham demonstrating physical strength and precision with a hand-balancing act after a description of the half-man, half-beast character of Caliban; Ariele Ebacher on the tight wire after Miranda, daughter of Prospero the magician is introduced; and rope jumper Seth Ingram after a discussion of Ariel the spirit. The crowd’s many younger members seemed to be awestruck by the dexterity and talent of the circus performers, with collective sighs and intakes of breath punctuating particularly impressive moments in their routines. Comic narrator Chris Allison further narrowed the gap between the text and the performances by engaging the crowd with jokes and antics, including handling the audience participation portion of the program, which had the majority of young audience members frantically waving their hands to volunteer to take part.

While geared toward children, the show is enjoyable for all ages as its melding of Shakespeare and the circus is visually striking and unique; the hour and ten minutes goes by very quickly thanks to the fascinating blend of comedy and drama from both Shakespeare’s words and thrilling circus acts. The show runs through Sunday, July 26.

Shakespeare & Company, in collaboration with Spirit of the Circus present “Circus and The Bard: A Tempest Tossed”, created by Allyn Burrows, Robin Eldridge and Pedro Reis, directed by Allyn Burrows and Pedro Reis, in the Tina Packer Playhouse, July 16-26, 2026. CAST: Chris Allison as the Comic Narrator, Jan “Yahn” Damm rolla bolla and electric duo, Lydia Isabel Duff as Petronella, Justin Durham hand balancing and duo aerial, Ariele Ebacher tight wire and eccentric duo, Seth Ingram rope jumper. Zoé Isadora duo aerial and silks, Marcus Kearns as Siegfried, JoJo McDonald as Devora. CREATIVE TEAM: Light Designer Luke Wilson, Costume Coordinator Aimee Green, Sound Designer Marcus Kearns, Stage Manager Rey Hankinson.