NEWS: Liverpool Shakespeare Festival 2012
This September sees Lodestar Theatre take up residency at the newly-refurbished Royal Court Theatre Liverpool for the return of the Liverpool Shakespeare Festival. Following on from the success of the festival over the last five years, the company returns with two new productions, Macbeth and A Midsummers Night’s Dream.
The two productions will be performed in repertory by a cast of nine, with director Max Rubin explaining that they are “designed as two halves of a whole.” With a cast predominantly made up of actors from Liverpool, Lodestar is once again aiming to promote the festival as a major part of the city’s cultural calendar. Audiences can expect Shakespeare for the 21st century, with the action being centred around modern day Liverpool whilst keeping the language true to the original plays.
Former Hollyoaks star, Zoe Lister, joins the cast as Lady Macbeth and Titania. Lister is excited to come back to Liverpool and praises Lodestar Theatre for being a “wonderful company giving new actors opportunities as well… I can’t wait to get on that stage. Liverpool, I’ve missed you!” Lister is joined on stage by Michael Ryan (Steven Spielberg’s War Horse, Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla) in the role of Macbeth.
Aside from the main event, the festival will also feature The Beat of The Human Heart, a youth project group who are focusing on the relevance of Shakespeare in the modern age. Quirky performance project ‘Come and have a go if you think you’re bard enough’ also returns on the last night for an unmissable, anarchic take on Hamlet.
Liverpool’s Shakespeare festival has gone from strength to strength, finding performance space in bigger venues each year. The move from St George’s concert hall to the iconic Royal Court is a something that all involved are looking forward to and, if last year’s festival is any indication, 2012 promises to be another great one for Lodestar.
Liverpool Shakespeare Festival runs from 21st September – 14th October 2012. For more information about the event and company, visit lodestartheatre.co.uk.
For tickets, visit royalcourtliverpool.ticketsolve.com.
By Vicki Goodwin.
NEWS: Liverpool Shakespeare Festival 2012,Tags: Come and have a go if you think you’re bard enough, Liverpool Shakespeare Festival 2012, Lodestar Theatre, Max Rubin, Michael Ryan, Royal Court Theatre Liverpool, The Beat of The Human Heart, Zoe Lister
