Much Ado About Nothing at Zilker Hillside Theatre

In Messina, everyone is an expert on love and a complete disaster at it. Austin Shakespeare brings William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing to Zilker Hillside Theatre from May 7–24, 2026. Admission is free, although donations will be accepted.

This production re-imagines Shakespeare's beloved comedy in 1950s Italy, drawing inspiration from the cinematic world of Federico Fellini — a world of sun-drenched piazzas, effortless style, and the gorgeous, aching gap between how we present ourselves and who we actually are. Lively music and song are woven throughout, evoking the irresistible soundtrack of Italian life and giving the production a warmth and rhythm that feels as natural under the open sky as the scheming and sparring at its heart. In this Messina, appearances are everything, gossip is currency, and falling in love is the one thing no self-respecting person will admit to wanting.

Sharp-tongued Beatrice and sworn bachelor Benedick spend most of the play loudly insisting they would rather do anything than fall in love — which fools absolutely no one. Around them, the considerably less self-aware romance of Hero and Claudio lurches toward catastrophe with the help of a villain, a case of mistaken identity, and the most gloriously comic police force in the Shakespeare canon. The result is the Bard at his most irresistible: a comedy of wit, pride, scheming and the thoroughly humbling power of love.

Audiences are encouraged to bring a blanket, pack a picnic and settle in for an evening under the stars.