Bard in the Botanics 2020 Cancellation Announcement

Due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19 across the country, Bard in the Botanics have taken the decision to cancel our 2020 summer season, planned to take place from 24th June to 1st August this year.

While we are incredibly disappointed that we will not be able to share our work with audiences this summer, it is so important that everyone works together to help stem the spread of this disease. The safety and wellbeing of our audiences and all the artists who work with us therefore has to be our priority at this time.

We had a fantastic line-up of plays, directors and actors in place for this summer – our 19th consecutive season in Glasgow’s beautiful Botanic Gardens – and we hope that at least some of that work will have a future life beyond the current crisis.

In the meantime, our core team of artists will be exploring ways to share content with our audiences online. It has been suggested that, during a time of plague, Shakespeare wrote some of his best work, possibly including King Lear, Macbeth and Antony & Cleopatra, and while we cannot promise to match that level of genius creativity, we will certainly aim to provide a bit of entertainment during these difficult times.

The loss of income from the summer season is a huge financial blow but the company want to do everything possible to ensure the survival of Bard in the Botanics.  To this end we have set up a link for donations and we would be very grateful for any contribution you can make:

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/bard-in-the-botanics-support-fund

We know that everyone is facing tough times at the moment but if you can spare anything at all, please consider donating to help us secure the future of Bard in the Botanics and make sure that when the current situation has passed, we can be back sharing Shakespeare’s wonderful stories with audiences for many
years to come.

Every donation, however small, will make a huge difference to us and help us navigate these unprecedented times. The summer nights spent with our audiences at Bard in the Botanics are truly special and, with your help, we look forward to returning in 2021 for our 20th anniversary season.

If you would like to contact the company for any reason, we are working from home just now so please email info@bardinthebotanics.co.uk

As Shakespeare himself said – “Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward to what they were before” – and we look forward to better times for us all.

Gordon Barr

(Artistic Director)

Board of Directors: Val Atkinson (Chair); Gordon Jackson; Denis Sullivan; John Deffenbaugh