Free Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Louisville 2026 season lineup

The Kentucky Shakespeare Festival will celebrate its 66th season in Louisville’s Central Park in 2026.
This season’s free mainstage productions include “As You Like It,” “Antony and Cleopatra,” and “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”
The festival also features food trucks, kids’ activities, and pre-show performances from community groups.

Louisville has enjoyed nearly 70 years of free summer entertainment thanks to the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Central Park.

As the city’s beloved staple of outdoor theater announces its 66th season of productions, Matt Wallace, producing artistic director of Kentucky Shakespeare, reminds the community of how the program has grown into more than simply a night of theater.

“It really is a festival atmosphere because we have so much going on each night of the season,” Wallace told the Courier Journal. “Before the stage production we have kids actives and food trucks, plus Will’s Tavern (a Brown-Forman Bar) and Will’s Gift Shop. You can truly make a night of it, there is so much to do.”

The long-running free outdoor theater series featuring the work of The Bard returns for on May 27 at the C. Douglas Ramey Amphitheater, 1340 S. Fourth St., in Old Louisville’s Central Park. For 2026, the beloved series marks its 66th season and promises a summer filled with romance, comedy and tragedy.

The season will include Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “As You Like It,” followed by the epic tragedy “Antony and Cleopatra” and Shakespeare’s hilarious comedy “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.”

“We are delighted to share another exciting season of free performances in Central Park,” Wallace said. “The 66th anniversary season of your Kentucky Shakespeare Festival will include an 11-week season featuring 55 performances and five productions, all presented absolutely free to the community throughout the summer.”

The 2026 season features two weeks of rotating main stage productions in July in which all three plays will rotate nightly. In addition, Kentucky Shakespearewill present the classic tragedy “Romeo and Juliet” from its Globe Players professional training program for high school students, plus Shakespeare in Dance from Louisville Ballet.

Since 1960, Louisville has been treated to free outdoor performances of the plays by Kentucky Shakespeare, making it the longest-running non-ticketed Shakespeare festival in the United States.

Adding to the festival-like atmosphere of Kentucky Shakespeare in the Park, The Kids’ Globe tent will open an hour before every performance during the summer with free interactive arts-based activities tied to the production, and various community groups will perform pre-shows at 7:15 p.m. prior to the featured production.

“Pre-shows are wonderful,” Wallace said. “We’ve had Hawaiian dancers, Flamenco dance troupes and many other artistic groups from the community. You never know what you will get to see.”

Performances on the main stage begin at 8 p.m. but come early. Starting at 6 p.m., a variety of 50-plus food trucks from the Louisville Food Truck Association will rotate nightly throughout the summer with two to three per night. At 7 p.m., Will’s Tavern (a Brown-Forman Bar) and Will’s Gift Shop and Kids’ Globe will open.

For those who can’t make it to Central Park, the company will perform “The Tempest” throughout the summer in more than 40 parks in the Louisville area and Southern Indiana. The tour schedule for 2026 is listed on the Kentucky Shakespeare website.

“Making the arts accessible to the entire community is an important part of our mission,” said Wallace. “It’s wonderful to bring Kentucky Shakespeare to so many different areas of the city. I have even seen people watching from the front porch of their house.”

Here’s what to know about the 2026 season of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival in Louisville:

2026 Kentucky Shakespeare Festival

‘As You Like It’

WHAT: “All the world’s a stage” in Shakespeare’s hilarious tale of love, mistaken identity, and banishment in the transformative Forest of Arden.

WHEN: May 27-31; June 3-7; June 10-14; July 15, 18, 21, 24

CREDITS: Directed by Matt Wallace

‘Antony and Cleopatra’

WHAT: Shakespeare’s legendary romance comes to vivid life in this love story of two powerful leaders: Cleopatra,Queen of Egypt, and Mark Antony, General of the Roman Empire. Passion leads to tragedy in this epic tale ofdesire, scandal, and power.

WHEN: June 18-21; June 24-28; July 14, 17, 22, 25

CREDITS: Directed by Matt Wallace

‘The Two Gentlemen of Verona’

WHAT: What happens in Milan, stays in Milan. This version of Shakespeare’s gleefully silly comedy is set in 1940s Las Vegas, where love and friendship are put to the test. A charming adventure navigating a love triangle, betrayal, disguises, an escape into the forest and a dog.

WHEN: July 2-3; 7-12; 16, 19, 23, 26

CREDITS: Directed by Matt Wallace

Kentucky Shakespeare’s Globe Players: ‘Romeo & Juliet’

WHAT: Kentucky Shakespeare’s Globe Players professional training program takes the stage, presenting Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, directed by Director of Education Kyle Ware. The cast is comprised of students from multiple area high schools and the production is the culmination of a five-week training program.

WHEN: July 29 to Aug. 2

CREDITS: Directed by Kyle Ware

Louisville Ballet Shakespeare in Dance: ‘Hamlet & Ophelia’

WHAT: The final week of the summer season, Louisville Ballet returns for a 10th season to present an original dancepiece, “Hamlet & Ophelia,” from choreographer Roger Creel, inspired by Shakespeare.

WHEN: Aug. 5-9

For more information on the 2026 Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, visit kyshakespeare.com.