Jacobean hall plays host to great Shakespeare comedy

The all-male company The Lord Chamberlain’s Men will perform the play on the evening of July 8 by the lake in the gardens of the Jacobean hall, near Scorton, Richmond.

The show is an open-air production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and invites an evening of indulgence, when audience members may bring along picnics, deckchairs and a glass of something chilled to enjoy along with their evening of Shakespearean fun.

Last year’s production by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men of The Tempest, Shakespeare’s final and most enigmatic play, delighted the Kiplin audience.

This year the troupe of classically-trained actors bring to life a play which is traditionally a much more crowd-pleasing comedy, complete with magical fairies, love potions and bombastic players.

Mark Puddle, creative director of The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, said: “The Tempest is a far more thoughtful play, so for this year we decided to go all out and do a raucous, no holds-barred comedy, so A Midsummer Night’s Dream was the natural choice, as it delivers in spades everything we and our audiences want to make a fantastic summer evening. This tale guarantees a rollercoaster journey.” Tickets from 01748 818178.