One of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies will come alive this summer in the stunning setting of Beaulieu Abbey Cloister, with an open-air production of Twelfth Night on July 11th, 12th and 13th 2018.
A great way to get that summer festival feel, the play will be performed by the Castle Theatre Company from the University of Durham, which offers some of the best student drama in the UK and this year celebrates its 40th Summer Shakespeare Tour of castles and manor houses across the country.
The classic tale of love and confusion will offer great summer evening entertainment. The story follows the adventures of twins Viola and Sebastian, who are separated after a shipwreck. Viola disguises herself as a boy and becomes a messenger between the Duke Orsino and wealthy heiress Olivia. A love triangle begins and, with the reappearance of long-lost Sebastian, chaos ensues!
The abbey grounds open at 6pm for picnics, while performances of Shakespeare at Beaulieu begin at 7pm. Performances will move inside the Abbey Domus if it rains.
Tickets can be bought in advance online at £12 an adult and £10 for under-16s and concessions. For tickets or more information click here, email events@beaulieu.co.uk or call 01590 612888. Parking will be available on the Beaulieu attraction arena.
Did you know?
Montagu ancestor Henry Wriothesley, the 3rd Earl of Southampton, was the only acknowledged patron of Shakespeare and dedicated two of his poems to the Earl – Venus & Adonis and The Rape of Lucrece. Many Shakespearean scholars believe the Earl was the ‘Fair Youth’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets and it is not inconceivable that one or more of the Bard’s plays may have been performed for the first time at the Domus at Beaulieu. The Earl’s hunting lodge later became known as Palace House at Beaulieu, which has become the Montagu family ancestral home.