The course of true love never did run smooth, as Shakespeare once so eloquently stated, and the same could be said of festival planning in recent years.
Dixon Lobb, a member of the Stratford Shakespeare Trust, says the Omicron outbreak has meant changes needed to be made to this year's Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
"The events team of the festival, along with the Stratford Shakespeare Trust, has made the difficult decision to postpone the majority of the festival to 2023."
A "plague adapted festival" is still set to take place however, he says, with some films still scheduled to be shown during April as well as events such as the planned school holiday programme, gallery exhibitions and photography competitions still on the calendar.
All the work put into planning the original festival for this year hasn't gone to waste, says Dixon, but rather means next year's festival is set to be well and truly worth the wait, with plenty of events already planned for it.