Merely Theatre Bring Shakespeare off Screen & on Stage with 2016 National Tour
Theatre in the cinema was created to help people who couldn't reach London's biggest theatres, or couldn't afford a ticket, to see their shows. In 2015, Shakespeare productions have been silver-screened as never before thanks to stars like Kenneth Branagh and Benedict Cumberbatch. Unfortunately, Lyn Gardner wrote in May of this year how such screenings could see a decline in touring productions, and by December, her fears began to look increasingly justified. Merely Theatre believe there's no substitute for the live experience. In 2016, they will put quality Shakespeare back onto stages throughout the country, to bring the live experience back to life.
Countrymen, Lend Me Your Ears: Merely Theatre's Accessible Productions Promise to Reveal Shakespeare
Shakespeare should be seen and not read. Shakespeare wrote his scripts for the stage, and Merely Theatre will take two of his best loved plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Henry V, across the country this spring. The company will perform over forty shows in nearly twenty venues throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. What's more, they promise audiences will not only understand the shows, but fall in love with their humour, energy and insight.
Merely Theatre Balance the Bard with UK Tour Using 50/50 Male and Female Company of Actors
As 2015 drew to a close, criticisms surfaced over equality of opportunity for women in the arts in the UK. While the industry as a whole flags behind other sectors, the new generation of theatre companies are taking matters into their own hands. Merely Theatre hope to start 2016 as they mean to go on as they embark on their first national tour: as the first gender-blind classical theatre company, and the first to use 50/50 casting.