After the huge success of last summer’s touring production of Romeo and Juliet, the Globe is delighted to announce its second open-air tour, The Winter’s Tale, which will be travelling to 22 venues of outstanding beauty across the UK from 4 June – 13 September. It comes to Lydiard House on 26-27 August.
 
Part family drama, part fairy tale, The Winter’s Tale, in keeping with the spirit of the old principles of touring theatre, will present a troupe of actors entertaining crowds with a stripped down version of Shakespeare’s magical story of jealousy, love and redemption.
 
Convincing himself of his wife’s infidelity, Leontes, king of Secilia, is driven into a jealous rage. Leontes is unmoved despite the entreaties of his wife and a proclamation from the Oracle of Apollo.
The disastrous consequences of Leontes actions reverberate across generations and national borders. Only his daughter, Perdita, left for dead in the wilds of Bohemia in her infancy, survives to redeem the tale.
 
Director John Dove will be revisiting the play after his hit production of The Winter’s Tale at the Globe Theatre in 2005. As well as The Winter’s Tale, Dove has directed Measure for Measure and In Extremis by Howard Brenton for Shakespeare’s Globe. His other work includes Darwin in Malibu (Birmingham Rep) and Rafts and Dreams (Royal Court), Death of a Salesman (Royal Lyceum Edinburgh). Dove was also an Associate Director at Hampstead Theatre.
 
Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, says; “The Globe was born out of a touring company culture, and that culture remained vital to it while it flourished.  We are delighted to be exploring again the tradition of taking Shakespeare into non-theatrical spaces.”

The Winter’s Tale – Shakespeare’s Globe on tour
Directed by John Dove
 
Tuesday 26 & Wednesday 27 August         
Lydiard House, Swindon, Wiltshire
All performances 7.30pm
£15, concs £10
01793 466 454
www.lydiardpark.org.uk