Midsummer Scene is the southernmost English theatre festival in Europe. It coincides with the beginning of summer and, following the centuries-old Dubrovnik tradition of open-air theatre, all our shows are performed under the stars. Our main stage is Fort Lovrjenac, one of the most evocative and atmospheric venues on the continent.
We began our life marking 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth in 2014 and, ever since, the Bard has been the core of Midsummer Scene Festival. In 2018 we have celebrated our first five years with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the play that, in part, gave the Festival its name.
Our 2015 production of Twelfth Night transferred to Vienna’s English Theatre in 2016 – the year we also featured the first actress to play the titular role in Hamlet on a major stage in South-eastern Europe – and travelled to Bermuda Festival of Performing Arts in 2017. We revisited Bermuda in January 2019 to open the inaugural season of Shakespeare on the Rock.
Midsummer Scene Festival 2019 – Season of Love and Hate marks our sixth edition with Romeo & Juliet as our headline production. Every year we strive to enrich our programme and open the ancient City to international artists.
This year we have the joint programme with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and we continue the successful collaboration with The House of Marin Držić – the museum dedicated to life and works of a major Renaissance playwright and Dubrovnik native. We have joined forces with the Marin Držić Theatre to co-produce Uncle Maroye Re-Examined, a piece inspired by Držić’s most famous comedy written in 1551. The production has been selected for the main programme of Gdańsk Shakespeare Festival.
We are also proud to open a cabaret scene with the celebrated duo Roulston & Young and welcome the acclaimed production of I, Who Have Hands More Innocent. This year, the festival’s educational outreach includes Lessac Institute voice workshops.
