For its 2017 tour, Merely Theatre will present their gender blind productions of Romeo & Juliet and Twelfth Night from the 21st February.
Presented in a stripped back style, Merely Theatre’s productions of two of Shakespeare’s best loved plays are energetic and will seek to examine Shakespeare in a new way.
The company is dedicated to gender-blind practice, means that all of the actors rehearse their five-hand productions in male-female pairs, generating twice the amount of ideas for each role, while halving the rehearsal time for each individual. Each production will see a man and a woman play each set of parts alternately across the venues on the tour; a male Juliet or a female Malvolio for example.
Both productions are directed by Artistic Director Scott Ellis with set and costume designs by Florence Hazard.
Casting for Romeo & Juliet and Twelfth Night will include: Ffion Jones, Robert Myles, Sarah Peachey, Luke Barton, Tamara Astor, Stephen Leask, Emmy Rose, Simon Grujich ,Hannah Ellis and David Gerits.
The tour dates for the productions are as follows:
21st February Bedales Olivier Theatre, Bedales School, Steep, GU32 2DG
27th – 28th February Eastwood Park Theatre, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock, G46 6UG
2nd – 3rd March New Lincoln Theatre Royal, Clasketgate, Lincoln, LN2 1LJ
8th –9th March Norwich Playhouse Theatre, Theatre Street, Norwich, NR2 1RL
14th – 15th March Corn Exchange Newbury, Market Place, Newbury RG14 5BD
16th March Stantonbury Theatre, Stantonbury, Milton Keynes MK14 6BN
21st – 22nd March The Old Laundry, Rayrigg Road, Windermere LA23 3
23rd – 24th March Wokingham Theatre, Twyford Road, Wokingham, Berks RG40 5TU
28th – 29th March Market Place Theatre, Market Street, Armagh BT61 7BW
30th March Island Arts Centre, The Island, Lisburn BT27 4RL
31st March Down Arts Centre, 2-6 Irish Street, Downpatrick BT30 6BP
1st April The Space Theatre, Castle Park Rd, Bangor, C. Down BT20 4TD
18th – 22nd April Greenwich Theatre, Crooms Hill, London SE10 8ES
5th May Uppingham Theatre, 32 Stockerston Road, Uppingham LE15 9UD
10th May The Old Town Hall, High Street, Hemel Hempstead HP1 3AE
22nd – 23rd May Lowther Pvillion, West Beach, Lytham St Anne’s, Lancashire FY8 5QQ 24th – 25th May Theatre Royal Wakefield, Drury Lane, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 2TE
Romeo & Juliet and Twelfth Night will be on tour from the 21st February. For more information and to book tickets visit: http://merelytheatre.co.uk/current-productions/