Globe’s Midsummer Night’s Dream heads for Cathedral for festival finale

Jul 22 2008 by Vicky Anderson, Liverpool Daily Post

NIGHTLY performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in the gardens of the Anglican Cathedral, will mark the climax of this year’s Liverpool Shakespeare Festival.

Touring company Shakespeare’s Globe will be making their first trip up to the city to take part with their production of The Winter’s Tale, and popular movie versions of Shakespeare plays will complete the bill.

The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival was set up last year by the Lodestar Theatre Company.

They staged Macbeth in St James’ Gardens last summer, and now plan to expand the event with the two plays, outdoor cinema, and al fresco bistro and bar.

At the heart of the project is artistic director Max Ruben, a lecturer at Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, originally from Cornwall, and creative manager Nina Borgner.

The pair had individually settled in Liverpool and wanted to create more opportunities for local acting talent without having to leave for the capital.

Nina Borgner said: "We wanted to create a North West-based company and encourage people to stay local. We want to find really talented people and really strengthen the sector, like Liverpool in the 1970s."

The pair are excited about the extra happenings on offer this year, and are currently searching for the corporate help to pull the festival off in style. "It’s just been our vision for the whole year and we’ve worked so hard for it," said Ms Borgner.

"Our aim is to make Shakespeare relevant for the 21st century, and it’s all about making it more inclusive.

"It’s exciting for us to have the Globe take part; it’s lovely we can make this happen.

"It’s a wonderful space and we really want the festival to help raise the profile of the place, because so many people last year didn’t know the place existed. It is just going to be magical for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the space is so atmospheric.

"People can arrive early, have dinner, really make it an experience."

The Winter’s Tale kicks things off with performances from July 31 to August 4, followed by Lodestar Theatre Company’s Midsummer Night’s Dream from August 13 to September 7.

In between will be open-air screenings of Shakespeare in Love (August 7), Al Pacino’s Looking for Richard (August 8) and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet (August 9).

Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, said: "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."

* FOR tickets and more information, visit www.theliverpoolshakespearefestival.co.uk

vickyanderson@dailypost.co.uk