Original Practice Shakespeare Festival presents “Loves Labour’s Lost”

Original Practice Shakespeare Festival offers a free presentation of “Loves Labour’s Lost” at 7 p.m. Aug. 4 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: Forgetting the French Princess is arriving soon, King Ferdinand and friends swear off women. The courtiers are smitten. Letters are sent and confused. Berowne reasons ways out of the oath. The French court departs, but will return in one year to marry the King and courtiers…if they prove worthy.

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.