SHAKESPEARE IS FOR EVERYONE

Our mission

Riverside Theatre is committed to bringing professional level Shakespeare productions to our community free of charge every summer on the Festival Stage in Iowa City’s Lower City Park.

Since 2000, Riverside has staged more than 40 classical productions in the Park. This program was made free for all in 2018 and regularly serves more than 2,000 attendees each summer, employing dozens of local and regional artists.

An event for the community, brought to you by the community.

Families, friends, and neighbors, young and old, can enjoy an evening under the stars watching and listening to our finest actors perform the work of one of the greatest playwrights in history.

Underwritten in part by The City of Iowa City, the Iowa Arts Council, and YOU.

Shakespeare: not of an age, but for all time

Shakespeare’s contemporary Ben Jonson put it best: “Not of an age, but for all time.”

Shakespeare’s work endures because of its humor, its rich language, its exploration of the human experience, and its remarkable adaptability to the present.

by William Shakespeare
Directed by Adam Knight
Sponsored by ImOn Communications

June 13 – 29, 2024 at Lower City Park
All shows free – no ticket reservation required

Synopsis:

For our 40th production and our 25th year on the festival stage we will bring the story of…

“Two households, both alike in dignity
In fair Verona, where we lay our scene”.

Romeo & Juliet is a story of youth, love, and the possibility of change. In a society teeming with lovers and fighters, divided by deep, partisan rifts, two young voices dare to envision a new path forward—one built on love instead of conflict. Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece captures the intensity of young passion and the hope that a new generation can overcome the failures of the past. Above all, it is the story of love: its power to transform, unite, and endure, even in the face of tragedy.