Jennifer Lines and John Murphy star as Beatrice & Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, which is now scheduled to open in Vancouver's Vanier Park on June 16.Jennifer Lines and John Murphy star as Beatrice & Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, which is now scheduled to open in Vancouver's Vanier Park on June 16. (David Cooper/Bard on the Beach)

Vancouver's Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival will open later than scheduled in the city's Vanier Park because of problems with the mainstage tent.

Preview performances of Much Ado About Nothing, scheduled to run June 3-9, have been cancelled.

The play will now preview on June 10 and 11, and officially open on June 12 instead of on June 10.

The June 16 preview of Antony and Cleopatra was also cancelled, but the all the other scheduled dates for the play will remain the same.

During the mainstage tent's installation, a routine inspection revealed that one of its sections was deformed, the festival's organizers said in a statement issued on Sunday.

The tent has been taken down, and the section will be repaired and then reinstalled. Patrons with tickets for the affected performances will be contacted by Thursday, and be given refunds or tickets to another performance.

Bard on the Beach's 21st summer season also includes performances of William Shakespeare's Henry V and Falstaff.

The season runs until Sept. 25.