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Outdoor Shakespeare troupe finds new home

Harriet Heywood
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
Reporting fromBuckden, St Neots
Harriet Heywood/BBC Mr Milne is smiling at the camera on a sunny day. He is sat on the flagstone stage wearing a blue top with SatT branding on (Shakespeare at the Towers). He has shoulder length brown hair. Behind him is a red bricked wall, some shrubbery and a white statue of a person holding a jug.Harriet Heywood/BBC
"Open air Shakespeare doesn't happen everywhere, I hope that it will blow people minds because it's an amazing thing," said Reuben Milne, chair of the registered charity, Shakespeare at the Towers Trust

An open-air theatre group said it was excited to debut at the 11th Century former residence of Catherine of Aragon - the first wife of King Henry VIII.

The group, formerly named Shakespeare at The George, had its annual residency contract at the pub in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire terminated by Greene King last year, after 65 years.

On 24 June, it will start a run of performances of Twelfth Night at its new home in Buckden Towers, a few miles down the A1 in Buckden.

Reuben Milne, chair of the newly named Shakespeare at the Towers, said he was excited to hear what both new and loyal audiences thought of the historic space.

Harriet Heywood/BBC The Queen Katherine Knot Garden is full of flowers with red and white ones in the foreground. Behind them are two symmetrical mazes - made from short bushes. Stone lines a path around the garden and there are trees and shrubbery around the edges. In the background the red bricked Buckden Towers can be seen to the left of a tall church tower which has a clock in the centre.Harriet Heywood/BBC
The open-air production will take place in the Queen Katherine Knot Garden

The George Hotel had been an old Jacobean coaching inn where Shakespeare's plays would have been performed, and it had been an "astonishingly authentic venue" to put on the plays.

Mr Milne, 54, said: "Every single thing has had to change - from 65 years of learning how one venue works and how the space works and what we need. It's a complete reset.

"[But] what's lovely about this place is it still has that historical authenticity.

"It formerly belonged to the bishops of Lincoln, and at one point Catherine of Aragon was kept here... It had lots of visits from kings and royalty."

He continued: "It's well preserved and it really does feel like not much has changed... You could almost imagine you're here in mediaeval times, perhaps hearing of this young upcoming playwright called William something-or-other."

Harriet Heywood/BBC The flagstone stage has steps at the front and is a sandy colour. Behind it is are the red bricked walls which match that of Buckden Tower. There is some set on the stage which includes a white statue, green bushes and small trees. In the centre of the stage there is a door. Around this are four pillars - made to look like marble - and two matching benches at either side. Harriet Heywood/BBC
The garden has a large built-in flagstone stage, but is not in an enclosed space, which created some challenges when it came to setting up lighting

The towers is about four miles (6.5km) away from the George, but Mr Milne anticipated the move would bring in new audiences as well as long-term fans.

He added: "We are hoping to bring them with us. I'm really interested in seeing what they think, what changes they've seen, how they would compare the two experiences.

"I think I'm possibly even more excited by people who've never come across us before."

The show will run at Buckden Towers from 24 June to 5 July this summer.

There will be a captioned performance, sponsored by The Evelyn Glennie Foundation and a touch tour of the set and costumes for blind and partially sighted people before the performance on 30 June.

Harriet Heywood/BBC A pathway leading into Buckden Towers. To the left is a sign with information on. The path leads over what looks like a former moat and into an archway where the red bricked towers stand. At either side of it is green grass and some trees stand in the foreground. Harriet Heywood/BBC
Mr Milne said he was grateful to the residents of Buckden for welcoming the theatre group, adding excitement had been building around the production as more than 600 tickets were sold within the first week

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