Shakespeare North Playhouse promises Macbeth, mechanicals and more in 2023

English Touring Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong are among the companies heading to Prescot as part of Shakespeare North Playhouse’s 2023 season.

This year marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Bard’s First Folio, drawing together his plays under one cover, and Shakespeare North is celebrating its historical significance through a busy programme of performances and events.

A new production titled The Comedy of Errors (more or less) will be staged next month, co-produced with the Stephen Joseph Theatre.

Now the Prospero Place venue has also announced it will co-produce a new version of Macbeth with ETT, Northern Stage and Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, with the ‘Scottish Play’ receiving its premiere in the Cockpit Theatre from September 1-23.

Meanwhile earlier in the season, Headlong and the Barbican present A Play of Living in a Time of Extinction.

Miranda Rose Hall’s darkly funny, life-affirming show, being performed from May 16-20, is described as a bold experiment in eco theatre-making.

And Shakespeare’s Globe will bring Midsummer Mechanicals to the playhouse, playing to schools and general audiences between July 15 and July 18.

A hilarious follow-up to the play within-a-play from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Midsummer Mechanicals follows Peter Quince’s acting troupe as they attempt to recapture the success of their first hit Pyramus and Thisbe, a show so bold, brilliant and chaotic that it went down in theatre history.

There is also a wide-ranging programme of productions planned for the venue’s Studio space including Mooncup Theatre’s Off Your Bonnet, Sarah Allen Productions’ Ladyfriends (a period drama) and Rose Biggin and Keir Cooper’s WILD TIME: A Theatrical Novel, a punk prose retelling of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Shakespeare North Playhouse creative director Laura Collier says: “It’s been an incredible first 6 months at Shakespeare North Playhouse and we’re so excited to announce the second half of our opening year.

"We can’t wait welcome our friends including English Touring Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe and Headlong Theatre and to celebrate a year of Shakespeare North Playhouse this 2023.”

For full details of the season and to book tickets visit the website HERE

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