The Kennebec County town of Monmouth will be without Shakespeare this summer after the Theater at Monmouth announced late last week that it had canceled the season’s planned shows.
“Reluctantly, the board of trustees has determined that Theater at Monmouth will not present a summer season in 2026,” according to an announcement posted online last week. “After a careful review of our finances, the board has concluded that we are not in a position to responsibly mount our productions this year.”
For more than 50 years, the venue has hosted theatergoers at Cumston Hall.
Revenue has not kept pace with costs, the organization said.
“We owe our community honesty about why, and about where things stand,” the announcement said. “Like many small arts organizations, we have faced rising production costs alongside revenue that has not kept pace. We have reached a point where producing our regular summer season as planned would put the institution itself at risk.”
Last year, the theater staged “Twelfth Night.”
The board is expected to review other options for the future, including different operational models, the organization said.
“We want to be candid that we are not able to make promises about the future at this time, but as we explore our options, we do so with the hope of inviting you all to once again gather in Monmouth,” the organization noted.
Other Shakespeare options
In Belfast, MidCoast Shakespeare Studio will host free performances of its interpretation of the tragedy “Macbeth,” called “(Lady) Macbeth,” from June 24-28, in partnership with Belfast Parks and Recreation Department, at City Park.
In Portland, Fenix Theatre Co. will stage a production of “Henry IV: Part One” in Deering Oaks Park from July 9 through Aug. 1.
And in Camden, the Camden Shakespeare Festival will stage “The Tempest” at the Camden Amphitheater from July 15 to Aug. 9.
Staging Shakespeare
William Shakespeare, who was born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in 1564, has been dead for more than 400 years, but his body of plays lives on.
The Shakespeare Theatre Association’s membership includes 125 theaters in 46 states. Annual budgets at those theaters range from $25,000 to $60 million.
