The British Shakespeare Company was a British open-air touring

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

Company. Founded by Robert J. Williamson in 1994 (as the R. J. Williamson Company), it was renamed in 2005. Originally based in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

(performing in the ruins of

Kirkstall Abbey Kirkstall Abbey is a ruined Cistercian monastery in Kirkstall, north-west of Leeds city centre in West Yorkshire, England. It is set in a public park on the north bank of the River Aire. It was founded ''c.'' 1152. It was disestablished during ...

), the company later established Shakespeare festivals for Brighton,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, The

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

, Cannizaro Park in Wimbledon and Holland Park Theatre in central London. The company produced two of Shakespeare's most commercially popular plays each year from 1994 to 2007, totalling over 700 performances, usually featuring household names from film, television and stage. These have included

James Alexandrou James Alekos Alexandrou (born 12 April 1985) is an English actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying the role of Martin Fowler in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1996 to 2007. He was also the presenter of ''Bizarre Crime'' on B ...

from '' EastEnders'', Pierce Brosnan's actor son Sean, the dancer and performer

Wayne Sleep Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''. Early life Sleep was born in Plymouth, D ...

, and the comedian

Norman Pace Norman John Pace (born 17 February 1953 in Dudley, Worcestershire) is an English actor and comedian, best known as one half of the comedy duo Hale and Pace with his friend and comic partner Gareth Hale. Both former teachers, they fronted seve ...

. The 2007 shows, ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1 ...

'' and '' As You Like It'' toured Norway, Windsor, Leeds and Oxford. In 2008 the company performed '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' for two nights at Arundel Castle. The company's last tour in 2009 starred

Mark Arden Mark David Darwin Arden (born 31 July 1956) is an English comedian and actor, best known for his television appearances. During the 1980s, he was one half of comic double act ' The Oblivion Boys', alongside Stephen Frost. Arden was born in Ne ...

Louisa Lytton Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Ruby Allen in '' EastEnders'' and Beth Green in ''The Bill''. She also finished fourth in the fourth series of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' in 20 ...

Daniela Lavender Daniela Lavender, Lady Kingsley ( Barbosa de Carneiro; 14 December 1974) is a Brazilian actress, appearing on Brazilian television and on English-language television, film and stage, including touring with the British Shakespeare Company. Ear ...

, David Davies, Gabriel Thomson,

Steven Blakeley Steven Blakeley (born 26 February 1982) is a British actor. He is best known for his role as PC Geoff Younger in the British police drama '' Heartbeat'', guest roles in various other television programmes and multiple theatre roles. Early life ...

and Robert J. Williamson. The company performed ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' and ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''. This was the BSC's largest tour, commencing at the

Rose Theatre, Kingston The Rose Theatre Kingston is a theatre on Kingston High Street in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. The theatre seats 822 around a wide, thrust stage. It officially opened on 16 January 2008 with ''Uncle Vanya'' by Anton Chekhov, with ...

, Trinity College, Dublin, Ramme Gaard in Norway, before visiting Gawsworth Hall in Cheshire,

Norwich Cathedral Norwich Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of England Diocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites. The cathedra ...

Kentwell Hall Kentwell Hall is a stately home in Long Melford, Suffolk, England. It includes the hall, outbuildings, a rare-breeds farm and gardens. Most of the current building facade dates from the mid-16th century, but the origins of Kentwell are much ea ...

in Suffolk,

in Leeds, Burgrave Palace in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Sterts Theatre in Cornwall and Arundel Castle in West Sussex. Since this tour there has been no further activity by the company. From 2006, when the company began performing at Ramme Gaard, an ecological estate with an outdoor

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

on the coast of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, the Norwegian billionaire and philanthropist

Petter Olsen Petter Halfdan Rudolf Fredrik Olsen (born 7 February 1948) is a Norwegian businessman, billionaire and member of the Olsen shipping family, who own Fred. Olsen & Co. He is the younger brother of the current leader of the company, Fredrik Olsen. P ...

was its patron.

External links

* {{authority control Theatre companies in the United Kingdom Shakespearean theatre companies 1994 establishments in the United Kingdom Arts organizations established in 1994 Shakespeare festivals in the United Kingdom Theatre festivals in England