When Brawling Bard shows up having prepared for the wrong show what can they do? Panic, of course! Then throw together an unplanned, unrehearsed Midsummer’s Night Dream with the wrong props, wrong costumes and an in-over-their-heads, increasingly desperate cast.

Written by Alan Irvine and William Shakespeare. Directed by Alan Irvine. Fight Direction by Anne Rematt. Cast: Andy Cole, Alan Irvine , Alex Mykita, Michael Mykita, Gwen Norsic, Anne Rematt.

“Brawling Bard Theater always brings a very chaotic and physical style of performance to the stage in which hilarity always ensues.” – Jack Lake, Pittsburgh in the Round

About the Artist(s): Brawling Bard Theater was born in 2013 to present at the very first Pittsburgh Fringe the next year (2014). That first show, "The Compleat Guide to Murder and Mayhem by Will Shakespear, " won the Audience Choice award for the festival, inspiring us to continue to work together as a company. We are a troupe of actors, magicians, storytellers, side-show performers, stage combat participants, writers and directors. Our original shows draw on all our diverse skills and backgrounds. We produce an original show each year for the Pittsburgh Fringe, winning the Spirit of the Fringe award (2015), Best Ensemble (2016), honorable mention for Best in Show (2018), and Audience Choice (2019), and have also performed at the Rochester Fringe and Frigid NY’s So Many Shakespeares festival. Along the way we have developed a style of performing that emphasizes direct address to, and interaction with the audience, along with physical comedy and fight work. Mostly, though, we like to have fun, and to have our audiences share that fun with us.

Artist(s) have also performed at the following Fringes: Rochester Fringe
Frigid NY