Much Ado about Shakespeare

A new theatre troupe brings original practice Shakespearean performances to the Wellington region.
The first Lord Lackbeards production of Much Ado About Nothing will be performed at schools from Monday July the 8th through Friday the 12th. The production will also be toured to Greytown for a free community performance at the Greytown Little Theatre on Monday July the 8th at 7pm. There will also be public performances in Wellington at The Moorings on July 11, 12 and 13th at 7:30pm and July 14th at 2:00pm.
The Lord Lackbeards are a group of Victoria University of Wellington students and people in the workforce who enjoy playing with Shakespeare. The group uses staging conventions from Shakespeare's time – leaving the lights on, performing on a Thrust stage, speaking at pace and interacting with audience members – to produce a dynamic and highly engaging rendition of a classic play. Says Director Ania Upstill, "We want to give more people the experience of seeing Shakespeare performed live."
The primary focus of The Lord Lackbeard's tour is to inspire a greater understanding of Shakespeare by bringing an original rendition of the well known play. The Lord Lackbeards are looking forward to touring the play to Greytown as well as to secondary schools. Says Upstill, "Since this is primarily a touring production, we're not focused on costumes or set. Instead, we're spending time on what we have: allowing the words to take on their full power and keeping the audience in the room. Also, like in Shakespeare's time, we're doubling up on the roles. All but one of the ten actors involved have multiple roles, so costume changes are fast and fun."
Thanks to Creative Communities funding the Greytown performance at 7pm on Monday, July the 8th will be free of charge, and will be preceded by a free public lecture at 6pm about the play and its staging.

For more information contact Director Ania Upstill on 0223181037
For bookings contact Stage Manager Brett Reid at thelordlackbeards@gmail.com