Inferno Theatre presents a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” Credit: Inferno Theatre
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🎭 Inferno Theatre presents a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost,” where the King of Navarre and his three friends are devoted to study and avoid women until they meet the Princess of France and her three girlfriends. Show runs from Saturday, May 23, to Sunday, June 14. John Hinkel Park Amphitheater. FREE (donations appreciated)
📚 Berkeley author Ayelet Waldman presents her new comedic novel “A Perfect Hand” about love and subterfuge set in 19th century England, joined in conversation by fellow Berkeley novelist Michael Chabon. Thursday, May 21, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore. FREE (with RSVP)
😺 Berkeley Playhouse presents the Broadway hit “Cats,” which explores the hijinks and heart of one magical night when an extraordinary tribe of cats gathers for its annual ball to rejoice and decide which cat will be reborn. Show runs from Friday, May 22, to Sunday, June 21. $30-$60
🖼️ Join artist Xinchen Li for a drop-in workshop exploring line, gesture and sculptural drawing using 3D pens. Participants can learn to draw with PLA filament and can receive a small 3D pen portrait made during the event. No prior experience is required. Saturday, May 23, 2-4 p.m. 2727 California St. FREE
🎻 The library celebrates the Berkeley Community Chorus and Orchestra’s 60th anniversary with a six-week exhibit of photographs, mementos, and ephemera that runs through June 13. In preparation for Michael Schachter’s BCCO-commissioned “Terezín Requiem,” which premieres at First Presbyterian Church June 12-14, Berkeley Symphony cellist and San Francisco Conservatory music history professor Isaac Pastor-Chermak presents several examples of music composed and performed in Terezín and other Nazi concentration camps. Saturday, May 23, 3 p.m. Central Library. FREE
✂️ Enjoy live music, rock n’ roll facepainting and an interactive haircut performance at the ACCI Gallery. If you’re brave, you can volunteer to get your hair cut where you’re taped to the chair while the artist, Nelson, cuts your hair and the sounds are amplified and reverberated. Saturday, May 23, 3-6 p.m. 1652 Shattuck Ave. FREE
🎹 Berkeley senior Max Roston Saul, who’s won numerous student awards for his work as a jazz composer and pianist, leads a sextet featuring trumpeter Sai Ray and tenor saxophonist Victor Taraboukhine. All three were part of a Jazzschool small ensemble that won a Downbeat Student Award for best ensemble, which earned the group a tour of Italy this July, including an engagement at Umbria Jazz Festival. Saturday, May 23, 4 p.m. The Jazzschool. FREE
📚 It seems like only yesterday that Berkeley author Adam Mansbach was pleading with his first-born Vivien to “Go the F**k to Sleep.” My, how time flies! He’s back with a tome for all young adults in the midst of their launch sequence, “Go The F**k To College.” He’ll be joined in profane conversation by journalist Peggy Orenstein. (Learn what Vivien thinks of it all on Berkeleyside.) Saturday, May 23, 7 p.m. Mrs. Dalloway’s Bookstore. FREE (with RSVP)
🥁Oakland percussionist Sameer Gupta leads the pan-Indian classical music meets jazz quintet Namaskar with Carnatic saxophonist Prasant Radhakrishnan, Berkeley electric bass maestro Kai Eckhardt and special guest Siddique Ahmed on lute-like rubab. Saturday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. Ashkenaz, $25-$30
🎭 Shotgun Players present the Bay Area premiere of Bess Wohl’s fast-paced climate change comedy “Continuity,” directed by Emilie Whelan, who has assembled a comedic ensemble for a satire addressing the climate crisis and how a Hollywood crew intends to solve it. Saturday, May 23, through Saturday, June 27. Ashby Stage. $8-$80
🎷 La Peña hosts a 77th birthday party and fundraiser for KPFA with a concert by the John Santos Sextet, a stellar ensemble featuring Berkeley High alum Josh Jones on drums. Saturday, May 23, 8 p.m. La Peña Cultural Center. $35-$40
🧑🎨 “Art in open spaces” is an open community forum for artists and art-lovers to discuss the challenges and influences of making and consuming art in urban contexts. The conversation will be split between small group prompt responses, full circle synthesis and time to mix and mingle. All are welcome to bring drinks and snacks to share, as well as personal art projects to work on during the forum. Sunday, May 24, 1 p.m. 2727 California St. FREE
🎻 The Berkeley Hillside Club Concert Series features a performance by the Tomodachi Quartet, which will perform music by Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Debussy. Sunday, May 24, 3 p.m. Hillside Club. $18
🍃 Join forager and Chinese enthusiast Cindy for a pop up tea tasting and discussion of foraging in the Bay Area, including what to forage right now and foraging ethics. Cindy will bring in a sampling of freshly foraged herbs so that participants can touch, smell and taste some local flora. Bring your own mug to help reduce waste. Tuesday, May 26, 6 p.m. Far Leaves Tea. $22-44
🎧 Ever wondered how your favorite EDM drop secretly learned its moves from disco floors, rock riffs and funky basslines? Pub Scholar presents a casual lecture on house music by mixmaster and DJ Bobby Handa. Tuesday, May 26, 6:30 p.m. Donkey and Goat Winery. $25
🎨 Kala Art Gallery’s upcoming exhibition, “We’re a Mystery Which Will Never Happen Again,” explores everyday myth, mystery and the potential for discovery within the present moment. Featuring works by Woody De Othello, Jane Hambleton, David Huffman, Lucy Puls, Meghan Shimek and Maryam Yousif, the exhibition invites viewers to reimagine daily life through curiosity, attention and inquiry. Exhibition runs from Tuesday, May 26, to Saturday, August 22. FREE
🎥 After a screening of the documentary about internment of Japanese Americans during World War II “And Then They Came For Us,” director Abby Ginzberg discusses her film with author, psychotherapist and activist Satsuki Ina. Wednesday, May 27, 6 p.m. Tarea Hall Pittman South. FREE
🗓️ See more things to do in Oakland and Richmond. And check out our big list of affordable things to do anytime in Berkeley. Sign up for our weekly arts and culture newsletter, The Scene.
If there’s an event you’d like us to consider for this roundup, email us at the-scene@berkeleyside.org. The deadline to submit events for Around Berkeley is end-of-day Monday. If there’s an event that you’d like to promote on our calendar, you can use the self-submission form on our events page.
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