Original Practice Shakespeare Festival presents “Antonie and Cleopatra”

Original Practice Shakespeare Festival offers a free presentation of “Antonie and Cleopatra” at 7 p.m. Aug. 5 at Irving Park, 707 N.E. Fremont St., Portland. The company uses the original practice techniques of Elizabethan England: limited rehearsal, scrolls in hand, audience interaction, and an onstage prompter. Gender-fluid casting (just like in Ye Olde Shakespearean Days) is the norm.

To sum up the plot: Antonie just wants to love on Cleopatra, but politics keep pulling back to Rome. First the wife starts a war, then there’s a pirate harassing the shore, then Octavius Caesar just. won’t. stop. So many battles. Can love win out or will everyone end up dead? Hint: It’s a tragedy.

The Original Practice Shakespeare Festival performs all 25 plays in its repertory over the summer at 11 different Portland parks, with no admission fee. The company of skilled, flexible actors will perform with occasional interruptions of songs, dances and sketches. Shows usually begin at 7 p.m. and the audience is welcome to arrive during the hour before to watch dance and fight rehearsals. Children and leashed dogs are welcome. Picnic meals are encouraged. To see the complete summer schedule, visit www.opsfest.org.