BETTER than Shakespeare? Re:Verse Theatre ask you to judge for yourself when presenting a delicious satire in verse by the Bard's friend and rival, Ben Jonson, at next month's York International Shakespeare Festival.

The rarely produced Volpone, or Out-Foxed, will be staged by Ben Prusiner, an American theatre maker and academic now living in York, who has directed the past two York Shakespeare Project productions, King Lear last autumn and Henry VIII this spring.

His rising professional company, Re:Verse Theatre, switch from New York to Yorkshire to make their York debut in the outdoor amphitheatre at Rowntree Park, Terry Avenue, from May 15 to 17 at 7pm and May 20 to 21 at 3pm and 7pm.

"Volpone has no heir, so everyone in Venice flatters him with gifts, hoping he’ll write them into his will, but Volpone has no intention of dying anytime soon," says Prusiner, whose company specialises in performing classics with a social conscience.

"This animal fable for grown-ups is filled with larger-than-life masked con artists on the prowl. Verse and street comedy collide in this stunning Venetian carnival, featuring live music, wild costumes and a giant two-headed puppet judge."

In Prusiner's cast will be Paul French as Volpone, the Fox; David Phillipps as Mosca, the Fly; Tony Froud, Voltore, the Vulture; Jodie Fletcher, Corbaccio, the Raven; Jim Johnson, Corvino, the Crow; Anna Rose James, Celia; Christie Barnes, Bonaria; James Witchwood, Androgyno and Judge and Fizz Margereson, Nano and Judge.

Prusiner leads the production team that features stage manager Marta Donati; costumer and dramaturge Laura Elizabeth Rice; props manager Chloe Mercer; head of marketing Diana Wyatt and production assistants Katie Smith and Lena Tondello.

Audience members are invited to bring a blanket, chair or even a picnic. Tickets are free, although a suggested donation of £10 can be given at the door and reservations can be made at volpone-or-out-foxed.eventbrite.co.uk.

"If you can’t make it to a performance, you can catch the street show in King’s Square in York city centre from May 15 to 19 at noon," says Prusiner, who also will be giving a talk on Shakespeare's Rival: Ben Jonson at York Explore Library on May 8 from 6.30pm to 7.30pm.

"You can discover the larger-than-life exploits and audacious projects of Shakespeare’s friend and rival, Ben Jonson, playwright and first poet laureate of England. Jonson wrote for Shakespeare’s company – in fact Shakespeare acted in several of his plays – but he also established himself as an independent literary force and elevated playwriting to a publicly respected art form. Without Jonson’s leadership in self-publication, many of Shakespeare’s plays wouldn’t have been published at all."

Tickets for Prusiner's talk can be booked at eventbrite.co.uk/e/shakespeares-rival-ben-jonson-tickets