The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival is an annual celebration of the works of

William 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 nation ...

produced by the Lodestar Theatre Company. Originally centered on

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in th ...

, each summer sees different plays performed in various exciting venues - some by the festival's organisers and others by visiting companies.

Festival history

2007

The festival's first production, '' Macbeth'', played from the 16 August to the 8 September 2007. The first half was staged inside Liverpool Catholic Cathedral, the second half in

St James Cemetery St James's Cemetery is an urban park behind Liverpool Cathedral that is below ground level. Until 1825, the space was a stone quarry, and until 1936 it was used as the Liverpool city cemetery. It has been designated a Grade I Historic Park by H ...

. The production was very well received, the cast and direction lauded by most critics, although the production received some criticism as a result of the Cathedral's disadvantageous acoustics).

2008

To coincide with Liverpool's year as European Capital of Culture, 2008's festival is broader than previously. On their first visit to Liverpool, '' Shakespeare's Globe Theatre's'' perform ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some crit ...

'' in

and

in August. The festival also includes open air cinema nights and of course, the main event: Lodestar's production of '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'', performed from 13 August to 7 September entirely within St. James' Cemetery. The production received excellent reviews: 'Wonderful. . .outstanding . . .faultless!' (Liverpool Confidential) "a group that has seemed to gel incredibly well to produce a fantastic ensemble piece".Liverpool ''Review'' (2008)
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2009

In 2009, Lodestar presented a double bill: ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' a
St George's Hall
Liverpool, and '' Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead'' by Tom Stoppard a
Novas Contemporary Urban Centre
Both plays were, for the first time in U.K., performed by the same company of actors and the festival won a ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the ti ...

'' Arts award.

2010

The 2010 festival was postponed due to a lack of confirmed funding. But returned in 2011 with the planned production of ''Romeo & Juliet'' at St George's Hall.

2011

The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival returns! In 2011, events will include a new production of ''Romeo & Juliet'', Three community-led pieces created by 150 local residents with professional artists, and a theatrical experiment: 'Come and have a go if you think you're BARD enough' in which 100 actors will do battle in a unique production of 'Richard 3'. Performances take place in the concert rooms at St George's Hall, Liverpool between 25 August - 11 September.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20110527130652/http://www.liverpoolshakespearefestival.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Liverpool Shakespeare Festival Shakespeare festivals in the United Kingdom Shakespeare Festival Recurring events established in 2007 Theatre festivals in England