Sheffield Theatres to take Shakespeare to the streets

Sheffield Theatres has announced plans to bring Shakespeare to the city’s outdoor spaces later this year as the country moves cautiously out of lockdown.

With performances at the Crucible, Studio and Lyceum Theatres cancelled through to 20 July 2020 and the indoor spaces likely to remain closed for some time, the team at Sheffield Theatres is liaising with Sheffield City Council and monitoring Government advice as they work on plans to bring ‘Shakespeare To Sheffield’.

Announcing the plans, artistic director Robert Hastie said: “We want to offer the city some joy and find a safe way to bring people together to experience live performance again. The last few weeks have reminded all of us here that theatre is what we do, not just the building where we usually do it. As long as we can make sure that everyone involved is safe, we can still be creative and make some great theatre happen for audiences around the city. If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you.

“We’ll be making these shows with the same bold energy we always do, telling Shakespeare’s timeless stories with passion and humour, so that families, students and theatre-lovers of all ages can share in the joy of live performance.”

Chief executive Dan Bates added: “We are eager to explore taking into Shakespeare into Sheffield’s beautiful outdoor spaces and hopeful that we can find a way to make this work. We’re obviously disappointed that the scheduled performances through to the 20 July can’t go ahead, although we take some comfort from knowing that we are helping to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our teams and our audiences by remaining closed for the moment. We’re working hard to reschedule as many productions as possible and we’ll be in touch with customers soon to advise on productions transferring to new dates or to arrange a refund.

“I want to take this opportunity to thank the many customers who have supported us by making a donation during the lockdown. Your support, at a time that we know is challenging for everyone, means the world to us. Though our buildings are closed and our team is temporarily reduced, our work continues and our commitment to the vibrancy and wellbeing of our city and its people remains as strong as ever.”

Due to the length of the lead-in time for producing and touring theatre, some shows which were due to visit Sheffield in the autumn have postponed or cancelled their tours. The website sheffieldtheatres.co.uk provides up to date information and features new content and links to theatre that’s streaming now and activities for children and young people.

Angela Thomas