The Company
Bard in the Barracks was founded in 2006 as a cooperative venture between Theatre UNB and the NotaBle Acts Theatre Company. While it still retains strong ties to these companies, Bard in the Barracks now operates as a distinct company with its own volunteer board of directors.
The company’s mandate is to produce innovative, entertaining, and compelling site-specific outdoor productions of the plays of William Shakespeare. Bard in the Barracks has employed many of Fredericton’s finest actors, musicians, and theatre production personnel, and the company is committed to producing work in an environment where up-and-coming actors can perform alongside, and be mentored by, more seasoned performers.
Bard in the Barracks’ Artistic Director is Len Falkenstein, who is Director of the drama program at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, and also Artistic Director of the NotaBle Acts Theatre Company, whose mandate is to develop and produce new work by New Brunswick dramatists. Bard’s Technical Director is Mike Johnston, Technical Director for Theatre UNB.
In its first three seasons, Bard in the Barracks staged Much Ado About Nothing (2006), Twelfh Night (2007), and As You Like It (2008), all in Barracks Square in downtown Fredericton. In 2009, the company moved to Odell Park with a highly imaginative and critically acclaimed mobile staging of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Last summer’s Macbeth in Odell Park set new box office records for the company and has been our most successful production to date.
Since 2006 the company has built a strong and loyal audience, and Bard in the Barracks has quickly become one of Fredericton’s summer arts and culture highlights.
In addition to Theatre UNB and NotaBle Acts Theatre, Bard in the Barracks has received strong support from Theatre New Brunswick, Fredericton Tourism, and the City of Fredericton, the company’s major funder.
To contact Bard in the Barracks, phone 458-7406 or email nbacts@unb.ca. Artistic Director Len Falkenstein can be reached at
lfalken@unb.ca.
