See ‘King Lear’ — With A Happy Twist — For Free At The Battery

Forget London. Everyone knows Shakespeare really wrote all his plays to be performed outside in New York City in the summer. The city is always rife with performances of the bard’s canon every year around this time, but you don’t have to go all the way up to Central Park to catch one. A free outdoor performance of “King Lear” is happening in the Battery, right here in Lower Manhattan. 

Tuesdays to Sundays nightly at 7pm through August 8, you can catch the play for free at The Battery (Battery Place and Broadway) courtesy of Lower Manhattan’s New York Classical Theatre. There’s an added twist: while King Lear is considered one of Shakespeare’s tragedies, NY Classical will be performing Nahum Tate’s 1681 “happy ending” version. The version was performed almost exclusively until the 1840s, and while we won’t put spoilers here, let’s just say things end differently for the title royal. 

NY Classical has been around since 2000, with the mission of presenting all-free productions of popular classics and forgotten masterpieces in public spaces throughout the city. Due to the pandemic this year, the theater is requesting audiences make reservations to attend first; walk-ups are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the performance. Reserve a spot here. 

photo: Ryan Muir