Taking place from the 29th to the 31st May, the weekend event in Aldeburgh will raise funds for the charity Second Stage.
It has been announced that a weekend of performances, talks and film exploring madness in Shakespeare’s plays will take place in the Suffolk coastal town of Aldeburgh this May.
Running between the 29th to the 31st May at Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall and Aldeburgh Cinema, this fundraising event will bring together leading figures from theatre, literature and film including Dame Harriet Walter, Sir Jonathan Bate, Mark Lockyer, Stefan Bednarczyk and Colin Hurley.
The festival has been curated by theatre director Nick Hutchison and will raise funds for Second Stage, a new charity working to provide training, support and employment opportunities within the theatre and live events industry for people leaving prison.
Meanwhile, in the lead up to the festival Second Stage and Regeneration Theatre will hold a training course based around the text and themes of Hamlet at HMP Hollesley Bay, an open prison in Suffolk, teaching up to 15 men theatre technical skills and preparing them for jobs post-release and, for some, on-site skills training while released on temporary licence.
In January 2026, Second Stage hosted an Industry Awareness Day at the National Theatre, with contributions from Lord Timpson, (Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, as well as an experienced employer through his family’s company Timpson), Rosie Brown (supporter and ambassador of the Government’s New Futures Network and founder of COOK), Kate Varah (Executive Director and co-CEO of the National Theatre), Prison Governor Emily Thomas and Second Stage Ambassador, Michael Balogun. Offploy then presented a seminar on how to adapt the workplace to welcome these new recruits. The event was well attended with industry leaders from West End and regional theatres, subsidised and commercial companies, as well as technical companies who support the industry.
Since its inception in early 2025, Second Stage has engaged with 65 men and has put six into work; two in full-time positions and four into crewing work.
“Second Stage is breaking down barriers and creating meaningful pathways for people leaving the criminal justice system. By opening up backstage roles in theatre, they provide clear routes into skilled employment and enable people to make a lasting contribution to our sector. At the same time, this work directly addresses the challenges theatre employers face in recruiting and retaining the skilled staff on which the creative industries depend.” said SOLT & UK Theatre Co-CEO, Claire Walker.
The weekend itinerary for the weekend is as follows:
Friday 29 May
7.30pm: A performance of Lear’s Shadow, a 70-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear devised and performed by Colin Hurley.
Saturday 30 May
11am: In conversation with academic, biographer, critic, creative writer and broadcaster Sir Jonathan Bate, the author of Mad About Shakespeare.
2pm: An Aldeburgh Cinema screening of the 1999 film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream starring Rupert Everett, Calista Flockhart, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Kline and Michelle Pfeiffer, including a live introduction by director Michael Hoffman.
7pm: Regeneration Theatre present The Play’s The Thing: A One Person Hamlet distilled into 100 minutes and performed by Mark Lockyer and directed by Fiona Laird.
Sunday 31 May
11am: Dame Harriet Walter will perform passages from her book She Speaks – What Shakespeare’s Women Might Have Said, giving voice to the women in Shakespeare too often silenced or marginalised.
12.30pm: Brunch with the Bard and Bednarczyk – International cabaret performer Stefan Bednarczyk will perform songs from and about Shakespeare’s plays, while drinks and canapes are served to the audience.
For further information visit: https://www.madaboutshakespeare.co.uk/