The Great Northern Warehouse has partnered with theatre company, The GOAT Mcr, to bring a summer of live Shakespeare to the city centre.

Manchester’s ultimate dining and leisure destination, Great Northern Warehouse, will bring outdoor theatre to the purpose-built amphitheatre, guaranteeing the perfect urban setting for visitors over the next few months. So, grab a picnic blanket and get cosy!

Performed by some of the UK’s most exciting theatre companies, The Summer Shakespeare Festival will host a whole range of outdoor productions including Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and Romeo & Juliet. The live performances start on July 29th and run for three weeks until August 15th.

The brand-new company, The GOAT Mcr, has partnered with Great Northern Warehouse to help support the arts and cultural industry as well as bring a never-before-seen theatre experience to the city. This is the first time in several years a live theatre experience has been held in the Great Northern Warehouse’s amphitheatre.

The new festival will centre around a new production of the classic Shakespeare comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, in collaboration with Cream Faced Loons. The updated play has been awarded a grant from Arts Council England and will be shown 18 times across the three-week period, so don’t miss out! 

Much Ado About Nothing will be a Pay-What-You-Can production, meaning that tickets for the new play can be bought for as little as £1.

Also, on the line-up this summer is David Visick’s new play, Waiting for Hamlet. Starring Tim Marriot, this twist on one of the Bard’s best known works locks King Hamlet and Yorick in a battle of wits between two old fools. The play has received multiple rave reviews and has also won the Kenneth Branagh New Drama Writing Award.

Will & Co Theatre Company’s Bard in the Yard: The Scottish Play will be shown on August 7th and August 8th. In addition, Bard in the Yard: King Leonardo, will also be brought to audiences on August 8th. As a contemporary twist, the shows are set during the Covid-19 crisis, described by The Telegraph as “a 50-minute antidote to lockdown blues, delivered to perfection.”

On the last week of the festival, Flabbergast Theatre’s The Tragedy of Macbeth will be shown on August 14th, and Suitcase Shakespeare’s interpretation of romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet will bring the festival to an almighty close on August 15th.

  As well as the fantastic range of outdoor plays on offer, there will also be a special ‘Breaking Down the Bard’ Workshop’, run by the Cream Face Loons Theatre Company. Priced from £5, this workshop will walk guests through ways to approach Shakespeare in an accessible and playful way. 

  Mark Schofield, Centre Director at the Great Northern Warehouse, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering up with The GOAT Mcr to bring outdoor theatre to the heart of Manchester. After what has been an immensely difficult time for the city’s art and culture scene, we are delighted to be playing a role in finally bringing it back to local audiences. 

“The Summer Shakespeare Festival marks the first time that outdoor theatre will be held at the Great Northern Warehouse’s amphitheatre in many years, and it’s safe to say that we’re very excited to watch some spectacular shows”. 

Guests will be invited to dine at the many restaurants on offer at Great Northern Warehouse including polish eatery, Platzki, popular tapas restaurant, Evuna, and the delicious bake shop, Alex’s Bakery.

So, please make sure to bring a brolly, raincoat, picnic, cushions, bin bags and blankets as per a traditional Mancunian summer. Please note that alchol cannot be consumed within the ampitheatre itself.

For more information on The Summer Shakespeare Festival and to book tickets, please visit: www.thegoatmcr.co.uk/shakespeare-festival