02 6499 2222 council@begavalley.nsw.gov.au
Bega Valley Commemorative Civic Centre South East Centre for Contemporary Art (SECCA) Bega Valley Shire Library Sapphire Aquatic Centre Sapphire Coast Tourism
Have your say

Besotted with the Bard sonnet performance

Local poet Kai Jensen will share his passion for Shakespeare’s sonnets across four Saturdays at Tura Marrang Library in June.

Shakespeare's Family Circle painting circa 1880 - Perine, George Edward, 1837-1885

Shakespeare's Family Circle - circa 1860 - Perine, George Edward, 1837-1885.

19 May 2023

Local poet Kai Jensen will share his passion for Shakespeare’s sonnets across four Saturdays at Tura Marrang Library in June.

Bega Valley Shire Council’s Library Services Coordinator, Megan Jordan-Jones said Mr Jensen approached the library to host a performance series after memorising 154 sonnets for his own pleasure last year.

“During this time, Mr Jensen was struck by the potential of a Shakespeare sonnets performance,” Ms Jordan-Jones said.

“He feels that Shakespeare’s sonnets are every bit as dramatic as his plays.”

To help the audience fully appreciate the sonnets, Mr Jensen will introduce the topics and any unfamiliar Elizabethan words before every 10 sonnets.

“Some people can be shy of Shakespeare’s language, but if you can get past the ‘thou dost’ and ‘she doth’, he can sound quite contemporary,” Mr Jensen said.

“Some of the lines could come out of the mouth of an Australian teenager today.

“And every few lines there’s something so clever and unique, only Shakespeare could have written it.”

The free Saturday performances at Tura Beach Library on 3, 10, 17 and 24 June will be held between 10.30am and 11.30 am. Each will be followed by a discussion of the sonnets for those who want to stay.

The sonnet performances will also be broadcast via Zoom.

To book a free ticket go to the Bega Valley Shire Library website or phone 02 6499 2340.

Making an enquiry

All media enquiries and interview requests are coordinated by Council's Communication and Engagement team under the adopted Communications Policy. To view this policy, visit Public Policies and search 'communications'.

To submit a media enquiry or to request an interview:

Councillors

Councillors can be contacted directly for enquiries regarding decisions of the elected Council and non-operational matters. Interviews with the Mayor should be arranged through the Communication and Engagement team contact details above.

Receiving information

If you’re a journalist or media organisation that would like to receive media releases and notifications about media opportunities, please email your name, title and contact details to media@begavalley.nsw.gov.au and we will add you to our distribution list.

You can also subscribe to Bega Valley Together and Business News, Council's fortnightly e-newsletters, or follow @begavalleyshirecouncil on Facebook  and Instagram.

© Bega Valley Shire Council 2025

Our council websites

Contact Us

Follow us

Sign up for newsletters