The City Shakespeare Company

I have seen several productions at the City Shakespeare Company, and they’ve all been top notch. It is hard to find good, reliable theater in Los Angeles so City Shakes is a breath of fresh air.
The ensemble is very tight, with the same actors appearing in different productions. The productions feel modern without being tacky. Each show I have seen have had a great mix of comedy, character, music, and use of the space. You can see new details emerge each time you watch a production.
What else to say — it’s great theater in Los Angeles for cheap. Take advantage.

CityShakes is a wonderful little creative oasis in Santa Monica.
Actors:
Most shows take advantage of an ensemble cast consisting of a core group of members who have really built a lot of chemistry with one another. I can really see this group growing throughout their shows and can’t wait to see what they can continue to do. The old english becomes very transparent, which I believe shows great skill in delivery, though as always with older plays, the more you know about the plot going in, the easier it can be to follow.
Venue:
Awesome little brick space in an unassuming but convenient part of Santa Monica. The environment allows creative setups and a much more intimate feel than other theaters. Each show I’ve seen here as created a different layout to compliment the story. Full house lights are up through most of the show, and seating is on likely-​handmade benches with backs. Parking is easy on the street in the area and usually free after normal business hours.
All in all, this is a wonderful Shakespeare company and an enjoyable and intimate experience. If you like seeing passionate people experiment with the classics in an envirnment that makes you feel like a close friend instead of a detached theater-​goer, than by all means come see a show soon.

I’ve seen two City Shakes plays and I loved both of them (MacBeth and Romeo & Juliet). The space is intimate so there isn’t a bad seat and you feel like you’re right there in the midst of the characters’ lives.
No fancy costumes are necessary because the quality acting easily carries the play. For Romeo and Juliet, live music was added and it really gave the play extra excitement, but didn’t take away from the acting.
I’m looking forward to future performances and I highly recommend others to attend. You’ll escape reality and be taken into Shakespeare’s world for a while.

Last year we attended SHREW by City Shakes and enjoyed the laughter, momentum and fury!!! The actors played with our senses and tickled our fancies as the production was performed in an art gallery which gave it an intimate and colorful ambiance. Afterwards, we wanted to shout to the rooftops about this delightfully refreshing and new Shakespeare company. The next show we saw was Macbeth. Wow! Again, the brilliantly-​cast ensemble captured our collective breath against the intensity of the play’s content. Perhaps it was the audience’s close proximity to the anguish, playfulness, scheming, and frenzy that took our breath away. Or could it simply be the product of one of the most talented production companies to come along in a while? This is compelling theater at affordable prices and we look forward to seeing more!!!

CityShakes really «shakes» up Shakespeare. I’ve seen many shows with this fantastic company. They put on several shows a year. It is definitely worth making the trip out to Santa Monica. The shows are always fun, and they definitely have a different, more modern take on Shakespeare’s work and the actors in the company are phenomenal.

I went to see City Shakes’ version of Romeo & Juliet last week and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. We took our seats and the play started promptly. I was forewarned that it was set in «modern» times but with the old prose, and wasn’t sure how that would play out. Quite honestly, this was my favorite rendition of R&J that I’ve seen. With a small cast and members playing multiple parts, I thought it might be tough to figure out what was going on, but they do a great job of switching up costumes to keep the continuity and the action never stops.
You’re almost right on top of the actors as they act out the play and they often make eye contact with members of the audience, so it feels almost like you’re a part of the play yourself. The music they had was great, adding an extra element to the play that didn’t overwhelm the actors, but also provided a nice interlude at times between scenes.
All in all, very highly recommended and even though I really didn’t want to make the drive to Santa Monica from Orange on a Friday evening, I’m really happy I did and actually look forward to going back for future plays.
+++++ Keep it up guys! +++++

I’ve never been big on Shakespeare. The old vocabulary is usually pretty hard to understand. I came away from the shows I have seen with the feeling I didn’t miss anything.
I’ve seen several shows now and what is unique is the way the show is presented. You sit on wooden bleachers surrounding the players. This made me feel like I was part of the action and not watching a show. I could hear everyone clearly because of the small theater. This helped me understand the vocabulary, because even if I didn’t know the Old English word, I could tell what it meant from the tone of voice and facial expressions. These are exaggerated and often lost in a bigger production with stadium seating.
I didn’t feel I was watching actors. I felt like I was living and feeling what they were going through. All the shows were very thought provoking for me, but I am the same way with any movie I see that engages me.
Two of the shows I saw had live music which I haven’t seen done very often even in much bigger playhouses. The shows with music are really a nice touch because it helped me feel the scene and made scene transitions very smooth. At least that is the way I saw it. I’m a musician so I might be biased.
Like I said in the beginning, I have never been a big Shakespeare fan but so far I have only missed one of their shows.

I have always been a fan of live theater. Living in New York for years and used to frequent the theater regularly. After moving to Los Angeles quality theater was not as easy to find.
I’m a big fan of City Shakes and have attended their last 3 shows. They offer quality performances, with a fresh take. The shows are often 100 min or less with no intermission. Ticket prices are affordable, and the original music during the performances is a nice touch.
The venue is unique and intimate, without feeling crowded. I would definitely recommend them to theater goers of all kinds.

As a fan of theater in general, and having grown up attending everything from Broadway to local «castle theater» productions, I have to say that the City Shakes experience is wonderfully unique. Its a new kind of theater-​going experience, and their take on Shakespeare is both reimagined and able to adhere to the original stories. Most recently, Allison Volk’s Benvolio in R&J just stuns. Add their modern, unexpected location and the recipe really works. I recommend an evening with City Shakes the first chance you get!