Historic Washington State Park to host Shakespeare matinee and evening performance

Touring company from Texas to perform famous tragedy of Hamlet

WASHINGTON – Historic Washington State Park will host an evening performance by the Texas Shakespeare Festival of Kilgore on Friday, November 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the 1940 WPA Gym. The company will perform the dramatic tragedy “Hamlet.”

Doors open at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased in advance by calling 870-983-2684 or contacting historicwashington@arkansas.com. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door.

A special matinee production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet will be provided in the morning on Friday, November 9. The production is for local area junior and high school age students & classes for free admission. The performance will begin at 10:30am at the WPA Gym at the park. If a class or group of students are interested in coming, contact our park Visitor Center at 870-983-2684 to reserve your spots for the performance. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that is offered to our area students. Please do not hesitate to take advantage of this event. A maximum of 200 attendees will be allowed at the performance.

The Texas Shakespeare Festival’s Roadshow Tour brings abridged productions of Shakespeare into schools and communities throughout Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. The Roadshow performs with a Globe Theatre aesthetic, using acoustic instruments to create live music and sound effects from a seven-member acting company that plays all parts in the show. Since 2019, the TSF Roadshow has had the privilege of being one of 40 companies in the nation selected as part of the Shakespeare in American Communities program, working to bring Shakespeare into some of the hardest-to-reach areas of the country.

The event is sponsored by: The Patterson/Troike Foundation; The Roy and Christine Sturgis Charitable and Education Trust; The Arkansas Community Foundation, Texarkana Area; The Bobby Atkinson Foundation; Best Western, Holiday Inn Express, and Hampton Inn of Hope; Hope Evening Lions Club; Lagrone Williams Hardware; McDonalds of Hope; Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Pruden, and The Historic Washington Foundation.