SALISBURY amateur dramatic company Studio Theatre will be treading the boards in Stratfordupon- Avon this summer after winning the final of the first ever Open Stages National Shakespeare competition.
The theatre, which has its base in Ashley Road, Salisbury, entered a 50-minute excerpt from its awardwinning production of Hamlet into the competition run by the All England Theatre Festival and the Royal Shakespeare Company in March.
It then progressed through to the final in Worcester earlier this month where it represented the West of England against other Shakespeare productions from the north, central and eastern regions of England.
The reward is a well-deserved slot in the RSC’s Swan Theatre in Stratford as part of the Open Stages National Showcase, a celebration of amateur drama designed to show off the best companies from across Great Britain currently performing Shakespeare or Shakespeareinspired work.
Studio’s production of Hamlet was originally performed at the company’s theatre in July last year.
The title role is played by Salisbury actor Stew Taylor who will become the first English actor to utter the words “to be or not to be” on the new Swan stage.
He will be joined by Rachel Fletcher as Gertrude, Chris Hawley as Claudius, Alistair Faulkner as Polonius and Claire Brooks as Ophelia among the cast of 15.
Director Lesley Bates said: “Stratford is the Holy Grail for Shakespearean actors and I still can’t quite believe we are going to be there. I am so proud of what Studio has achieved and delighted that we have had such a great time doing it. We’ve learned so much and made so many friends working through the rounds of the competition.”
The trophy was presented to the company by the RSC’s producer of Open Stages, Ian Wainwright.
Adjudicator Scott Marshall described it as a “superb example of amateur theatre in Great Britain.”
The Hamlet company heads to the Swan on July 21 in a double bill with the winners of the Welsh Open Stages competition.
Tickets for the show are just £5 each, available through the RSC’s website, and the company hopes for a strong contingent of support from Salisbury.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here