The Oregon Shakespeare Festival is one of the largest regional theatre companies in the United States and the reason most people come to Ashland. Founded in 1935 by Angus Bowmer on a repurposed Chautauqua grounds, it now runs eight to eleven productions each season — Shakespeare alongside new and contemporary works — across three venues on a single compact campus in the centre of town.
The Allen Elizabethan Theatre is the crown jewel: an open-air stage modelled on the Elizabethan original, seating around 1,200 under the southern Oregon sky. Evening performances here — with the stars coming out over the second act — are unforgettable when the weather cooperates. The Angus Bowmer Theatre is a 600-seat indoor house with excellent sightlines and sophisticated production values. The Thomas Theatre holds around 250 for experimental and new work.
The season runs late February through October. Productions sell out weeks in advance in summer; booking early is essential. Pre-show talks and backstage tours are worth the time. The campus is on Pioneer Street, a short walk from the plaza and Lithia Park.