The Reader is bringing Shakespeare’s Globe on Tour to Calderstones Park this June, with a programme of four outdoor performances over three days.

Shakespeare’s Globe Touring Ensemble will offer audiences at Calderstones a choice of three plays, each exploring themes of nature, the city and the places beyond: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘As You Like It’ and ‘The Tempest’.

In keeping with tradition, the choice of play will be put into the hands of the audience with the crowd asked to cheer, clap and shout to vote for the play they want to see.

The performances will be the first to take place in the Garden Theatre since the Calderstones Mansion House reopened in September 2019, following a £5 million, three-year refurbishment.

Outdoor theatre in Calderstones Park has its origins in the ‘Holidays at Home’ scheme during World War II, when communities were invited to enjoy live entertainment on site.

Founder and director Jane Davis says: “Shakespeare has been bringing people together at The Reader since our first ever Shared Reading group started nearly two decades ago in Birkenhead. His work gets to the heart of the human experience in a way that continues to have a powerful impact on many of our groups across the UK and Calderstones who read his work aloud together each week.

“We can’t wait to welcome people of all ages to our newly opened Garden Theatre space this summer to experience the same feeling and we’re delighted to be working with Shakespeare’s Globe to make this happen.”

The whole tour will follow the traditions of an Elizabethan theatre ensemble, where a small group of actors would learn all of Shakespeare’s plays, perform them for the Globe audience, and then leave London and set out on the road with the favourite four or five plays.

The plays will be performed as in the 17th Century, with a stripped back set and a small, versatile troupe of actors taking on multiple roles across all three plays.

All performances will have a relaxed atmosphere, with ticket holders invited to bring along their own deck chairs, blankets and cushions.

Performance dates: 4, 5, 6 June 2020

To find out more or to book tickets visit www.thereader.org.uk/events

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