“THE COURSE OF TRUE LOVE NEVER DID RUN SMOOTH”

Enjoy a double whammy of Shakespeare’s beloved comedies, reimagined for new audiences.

Set against the backdrop of a rollicking music festival, our players get caught in a tangle of mistaken identities, lovers’ tiffs and mischievous sprites. Shakespeare’s whimsical farce A Midsummer Night’s Dream follows the antics of the fairy world playing havoc with their mortal counterparts. As the hours tick by, will peace be resolved? 

Meanwhile, in Much Ado About Nothing, the sharp-tongued Beatrice and Benedick bicker and banter, whilst Hero and Claudio fall in love. As the story unfolds, misunderstandings and deception lead to a series of comedic situations. Will love conquer all?

Brimming with their original dramatic poetry, the Bard’s playful comedies will lift your spirits this spring.

Written by William Shakespeare  
Directed and abridged by Ali de Souza
Set design by Bobby Joynes
Costume design by Lilly Bryan

“SMALL CHEER AND GREAT WELCOME MAKES A MERRY FEAST”

Enjoy a double whammy of Shakespearean farce, reimagined for new audiences.

The Comedy of Errors receives a lads holiday makeover as the hilarious antics are transported to a luxury Turkish resort. Two sets of identical twins, separated at birth, are reunited with plenty of slapstick humour and witty misunderstanding to keep the proceedings spicy!

Meanwhile, The Merry Wives of Windsor will sweep you away to a Cornish seaside town, where Sir John Falstaff has got his eye on the wives of two of the community’s wealthiest and well-to-do gents. Not ones to suffer fools gladly, the streetwise wives orchestrate a series of comical schemes and pranks to humble our hapless knight. Brimming with their original dramatic poetry, the Bard’s playful comedies will lift your spirits this spring. 

Written by William Shakespeare 
Directed and abridged by Joe Leat
Set design by Miranda Cattermole
Costume design by Finn O’Grady

“NOTHING I'VE EVER SEEN HELPED ANYONE EDADE THEIR FATE”

Liz Lochhead - Scotland’s former Makar - weaves the Ancient Greek tragedies of Oedipus, Jocasta and Antigone into a single, gripping narrative. 

Through a contemporary lens, prophecy, power and passion collide; highlighting timeless themes of political hubris and the profound cost of human blindness, both metaphorical and literal. 

Following the tragic arc of the House of Laius, from Oedipus' fateful discovery of his true parentage to the destructive conflict between his sons and the ultimate defiance of Antigone. Lochhead's adaptation brings a modern, Scottish-inflected sensibility to these ancient myths. 

Written by Liz Lochhead after Sophocles and Euripides 
Directed by Max Key
Set design by Alfie Packham
Costume design by Katie Evans

“IS ‘GOING TO BRIGHTON’ A EUPHEMISM?”

Ah, the Regency era: meddling mothers, fancy frocks and too-tight trousers… Stories we know so well - but what happens when the writer loses the plot? 

At the grand old age of nineteen, without prospects and title, Emma is facing a life of poverty. To avoid her future spinsterhood, she and her sisters hatch a plan to get wed quick. Enter boorish brothers, dashing suitors and a maid who might not be quite as she seems.

 Infused with a rebellious spirit and plenty of charm, Jane Austen's unfinished novel The Watsons is turned on its head by a dissatisfied playwright and characters longing to break free from tradition. Perfect for fans of Bridgerton and Pride & Prejudice* (*Sort Of), audiences can expect to be challenged and delighted this spring! 

Written by Laura Wade
Adapted from the unfinished novel by Jane Austen
Directed by Joanna Pidcock
Set design by Miroslaw Kusz
Costume design by Ryan Webster