Naked Shakes presents
Romeo and Juliet
 By William Shakespeare
Directed by Irwin Appel

September 1, 2, and 3 at 5:30 PM
UCSB Theater and Dance West Courtyard
Free Admission

September 10, 11 / 5:00 PM
September 12 / 3:00 PM
Elings Park, Godric Grove
Buy Tickets

Fall Remount and Opening of Theater/Dance Season
October 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25
UCSB Theater and Dance West Courtyard
Free admission

Experience Shakespeare’s timeless tale of love, conflict, and fate under the open sky—but not the way you’ve seen it before. UCSB’s Naked Shakes brings Romeo & Juliet to life in a bold, high-energy outdoor production where the text—and the actors—take center stage. Featuring live music by Jim Connolly, Matt Perko, and Dan Zimmerman, exciting fight scenes, and an electrifying sense of immediacy, this is Shakespeare stripped down, turned up, and brought thrillingly close.

Catch the production wherever you can—or come back for another round—as Romeo & Juliet takes the stage across three outdoor runs this fall: first at UCSB Theater and Dance West, then under the trees at Elings Park’s Godric Grove, before returning to campus for a special fall remount and the opening of UCSB Theater and Dance’s season. With free performances on campus and multiple opportunities to experience the show, there’s no excuse to miss this unforgettable take on Shakespeare’s most famous love story.

Naked Shakes.  The Actor and the Word.
In 2025, Naked Shakes celebrates its 21st season at UCSB, and its mission since 2006 has been to present energetic, exciting, raw, vibrant Shakespeare using the power of the actors and the language.  The critically acclaimed, multiple Santa Barbara Independent and Broadway World Award-winning Naked Shakes has performed at UCSB and transported productions to the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles, the Southwest Shakespeare Company in Arizona, including the World Heritage site Taliesin West in Scottsdale, and Elings Park and Center Stage in Santa Barbara.  In 2023, Naked Shakes brought 23 professional artists, faculty and students to perform Artistic Director Irwin Appel’s original adaptation of Shakespeare’s history plays, The Death of Kings, as the closing act of the prestigious Verona Shakespeare Fringe Festival in Verona, Italy.  Past Naked Shakes productions include:  Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, The Tempest, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, along with world premiere epic events, The Death of Kings and Immortal Longings. 

Naked Shakes derives its rather provocative name from the principle that an actor in a bare theatrical space, along with meticulous attention to language, few technical elements and the collective imagination of the audience, can create what Prospero in The Tempest calls “rough magic,” revealing the true heart, meaning, driving force and original inspiration behind a Shakespeare play.  With the inspiration and creative power of our choreographers and designers, Naked Shakes blends wild, actor-generated theatricality with razor sharp attention to language and imagery.  As an audience member, one may, at times, experience a veritable visual feast while also being able to close one’s eyes and absorb the sound and text as if one were listening to a radio play or podcast.  Whether one has a great deal of experience with Shakespeare, or little or none at all, a Naked Shakes production is designed to unleash the imaginations of the audience and performers alike.

Naked Shakes’ core mission is one of inclusion and empowerment, steadfast in the belief that Shakespeare belongs to everyone, and no one should ever feel left out or that the plays are not relevant to them.  Naked Shakes also believes that the job description of “actor” is to step into the shoes of another individual.  There is no rule that says only actors of the right gender, ethnic background, race, height and weight are allowed to play a certain character.  Naked Shakes is unequivocally committed to giving young actors the opportunity to stretch themselves and play characters they might not normally get to play in the “real world.”  All that is necessary is a desire to study a great play and have an adventurous, exciting theatrical experience.  Some of our student actors are non-majors, and some are members of UCSB’s prestigious Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Actor Training Program, the only three-year actor training program in the entire UC system.  If you are interested in participating, or in learning more about Naked Shakes or the UCSB BFA Actor Training Program, please contact Irwin Appel at irwinappel@ucsb.edu.