Pericles @ San Francisco Shakespeare Festival
For the 39th season of Free Shakespeare in the Park, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival will stage a hybrid version of Pericles, Prince of Tyre in a new verse translation by playwright Ellen McLaughlin. The production will be presented in four episodes to be performed serially throughout the season. Episodes 1 and 3 will be broadcast live online. Conditions permitting, the season will culminate with Episode 4 and a greatly-anticipated return to in-person park performances.
The episodic plot structure of Pericles lends itself to a Netflix-style performance schedule. Audiences can watch each episode live as it is performed. Each episode will also be recorded. As the summer progresses, the live performance of each new episode will prompt the release of recordings of prior episodes allowing audiences to delve into the story. This includes the final Episode 4, which will be performed in the park and recorded for remote viewing. To experience the story of Pericles in its entirety, audiences can opt to follow each new live performance or binge-watch parts or even all of the play by summer’s end.