Never seen a production of Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline”? You’ll have the rare chance to see it performed live when the Blackbird Theatre stages it at the West Park Band Shell.

“I remember always hearing about how odd it was, and how challenging it was,” said director Barton Bund. “And it’s one of these plays that nobody’s been able to classify. It’s been considered a comedy by some, but the Royal Shakespeare Company classified it as a tragedy.

“And I was really intrigued when I was reading it. It’s intense, and really different from other Shakespeare plays. He does some things (in ‘Cymbeline’) that we’re not used to. It feels kind of experimental. There’s a dream sequence, there’s violence and hostility, and there’s this immediacy to it that I really enjoy.”

Patrons may bring blankets and lawn chairs and the makings of a picnic to the production, if they wish.

The Blackbird production will feature Lynch Travis as the Celtic British king Cymbeline, who’s married to a scheming, cold-hearted queen (played by Qamara Peaches Black) who plots his murder, as well as the murder of his grown daughter, Imogen (Jamie Weeder), in order to pave her son’s way to the throne. Imogen, meanwhile, secretly marries Posthumus, who’s banished when Cymbeline finds out; and the pair’s love is further derailed when another man deceives them both.

“It has beautiful language, of course, but the characters - if someone’s speech is too flowery, they’ll call each other out on it and say, ‘Why are you talking like that?’ … And I thought it was a fascinating crime story, full of cool stuff like betrayal, fights, jealousy, lies, and this quasi-look into the history of … the Roman siege of Britain.”

Last year, the Blackbird presented “MacBeth” in the West Park Band Shell, and Bund didn’t want to follow that with another marquee Shakespeare tragedy like “King Lear” or “Othello.” Instead, he decided to do something more unexpected.

“We didn’t know what to expect (with ‘Cymbeline’), so it felt like we were working on a new play by Shakespeare, which is a fun thing to do,” said Bund. “ … If you’re doing ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ the audience comes with expectations, and you know you have to play certain scenes, and that the audience expects this or that.”

“Cymbeline,” in contrast, offers freedom from such comparisons and expectations, for the most part, which might particularly become an advantage when a play’s moments of dark humor revolve around death, decapitation, and the way news of the queen’s suicide is delivered.

“It’s a confrontational, bold piece,” said Bund. “ … There are twists and turns, and no one can be trusted. After we started prepping, and started rehearsals, we were watching ‘Game of Thrones,’ and we realized that that’s what (‘Cymbeline’) is. It’s this precursor to that sort of story of betrayals and power plays. And that’s been inspiring to us.”

Of course, outdoor theater productions always face additional staging challenges; but for Bund, the benefits outweigh the difficulties - or at least make them more palatable.

“When you do a play outdoors, you bring more life to it, because it’s in a location that’s very alive,” said Bund. “You don’t have a controlled environment. It’s a real place and a real location. … We don’t have lights, and we don’t have sound, but we sunsets and rainbows and wildlife. … And at this time of year, people are just really in the mood for stuff like this.”

Jenn McKee is an entertainment reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.