"I'll fight with none but thee," said actor Benjamin Farmer, as he and fellow thespian Joshua Gutierrez performed a fight scene from one of Shakepeare's tragedies, "Coriolanus." It's the story of a Roman general who is essentially banished from Rome.

"I think political climate aside, the show does have some parallels with things that might or might not be happening now, but it's got some great fights, it's got great characters," Gutierrez said. 

The play is being presented on the north patio of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Riverside Park, near West 89th Street, by the Hudson Classical Theater Company. The company was founded in 2004 by Nicholas Martin-Smith, who is its associate artistic director.

"It's really unique in that we are on the Upper West Side and part of the community. And that's part of the elegance of it — is that it's so easy to get in. It's so easy to see a show," Martin-Smith said.

There are three shows each summer season, all done without amplification in a natural setting. Farmer plays the title role in "Coriolanus," the company's 72nd show. 

"We're not mic'd, and so you have to learn and exercise those muscles in order to throw your voice off of the stone and the marble and the space to make yourself heard. It's a skill set all in its own, but it's really rewarding once you have it, and if the audiences way up there can hear you, it's a beautiful space to perform in, too," Farmer said.

The audience can choose to sit on the steps of the monument or get up close and personal with the cast on benches on the plaza.

"It's so dynamic and our actors have so many places to really play the field, and that's what makes this place such an exciting place to watch live theater," said Susane Lee, the company's executive artistic director. 

Admission for performances is "pay what you can." Donations are collected at the end of the shows, which run Thursdays through Sundays at 6:30 p.m.. Head here for more information.