News & Information

(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – June 11, 2009) Since 13 is the unluckiest of numbers, the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival is kicking off its 13th season with what is considered the Bard’s unluckiest play – “Macbeth.”

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company decided to confront Lady Luck head on by mounting the play that has the most superstition attached to it. There is a long history of disastrous events associated with the production, starting with the first Lady Macbeth collapsing from a fever and dying. Actors still try not to mention the name of the play in a theater.

The curse lives on and within 24 hours of the Kingsmen cast’s first reading of the play, it struck twice. The lead actor suffered a detached retina and had to drop out, and another leading actor had to back out after being cast in a Hollywood project. (For more about these and other calamities that have affected the production, click here to listen to the story that aired on KCLU.)

The show goes on, though. The roles have been recast and “Macbeth” will open Friday, June 26, and continue June 27, June 28, July 2, July 3, July 5, July 10, July 11, and July 12. All performances are at 8 p.m. in scenic Kingsmen Park at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks.

Director Michael Arndt, artistic director of the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company, is reprising his 1999 production of the tragic tale of treachery and violence. Although the approach is similar, this season’s “Macbeth” reflects the terrorist attack of 9/11 and the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that have brought evil and the lasting effects of war to people’s minds in the last decade. Macbeth, a lauded warrior who is less certain of his actions off the battlefield, follows a dark path and leaves destruction and sorrow in his wake.

While the Kingsmen Shakespeare Company has worked with CLU to present the popular outdoor festival since its inception, earlier this year it became the professional theatre company of the university.

The festival grounds open at 5:30 p.m. for picnicking. Pre-show entertainment featuring Renaissance music, comic Shakespearean improvisation and wandering magicians and jugglers begins at 6:45 p.m.

General admission is $15 and free for those under 18. Reserved lawn box seating is $60 to $75. For more information, visit http://www.kingsmenshakespeare.org or call (805) 493-3455.

The Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival debuted at California Lutheran University in 1997.The Kingsmen Shakespeare Company is a professional nonprofit theater organization that also coordinates apprentice programs, an educational tour and summer theater camps.