We’re delighted to have a number of clients acting and directing in this years seasons of Shakespeare at the Rose Theatre York and Blenheim Palace.

First up, the terrific GORDON KANE opens in HAMLET in York playing through to September – he’ll also be appearing in TWELFTH NIGHT opening from Friday (more news on that later in the week).

More than 400 years ago, the first audiences for Shakespeare’s plays enjoyed an experience that was as intimate as it was exciting, crowded in close to the actors and the action, in a small theatre in the bustling city of London. In Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre an experience every bit as exciting, intimate and immersive will be offered to today’s audience. The dramatic playhouse setting will pop-up not only beside the iconic 13th century Clifford’s Tower in the heart of York but also in the glorious grounds of ‘Britain’s Greatest Palace’ at Blenheim Palace.

Inspired by the famous London Rose Playhouse built in 1587 (12 years prior to The Globe), the theatre combines state-of-the-art scaffolding technology, corrugated iron and timber with the historic 13-sided design of a 16th century Shakespearean theatre. It will house an audience of 900, with 560 seated on three tiered balconies around an open-roofed courtyard, and standing room for 340 ‘groundlings’.

Outside the theatre, visitors can experience a vibrant, free-to-enter Shakespearean village, offering the finest Yorkshire and Oxfordshire based food and drinks housed in oak-framed, reed-thatched buildings, an array of ‘wagon’ entertainment, minstrels and a stunning Elizabethan garden with ornate box-edged beds of cottage flowers, roses and herbs.