Love is Open Air!

As Stafford Festival Shakespeare Announces Special Valentines Ticket Offer to the ultimate love story – Romeo and Juliet

February has arrived which can only mean one thing - Valentines Day is upon us.  Bored of buying the usual flowers and choccies? Too many teddies cluttering up your bedroom? Then Stafford Festival Shakespeare has the solution for you.

For two weeks only you can save a whopping £10 when purchasing two tickets for a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday evening performance of the ultimate love story, Romeo and Juliet, taking place this summer at Stafford Castle from 28 June to July 14^th this year.

Get in early and have something for you and your sweetheart to look forward too by purchasing your specially discounted seats anytime between February 14^th and February 28^th and together you can witness the magic of open air outdoor theatre from the comfort of an all weather stadium.

2012 will see Stafford Festival Shakespeare stage Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy, a passionate and poignant tale of star-crossed lovers.  Firm enemies, the Montague’s and Capulet’s dispute stems back years, so when their children meet at a masquerade ball and fall in love, their road to happiness is destined to be rocky.  

As the ill-fated couple fight for happiness, will their families put their differences aside for true love or are they heading for heartbreak?

Staged in the beautiful and ancient grounds of Stafford Castle, Stafford Festival Shakespeare has become a key event in Staffordshire’s cultural calendar. 

Offering all weather grandstand seating accommodating an audience of up to 1000, the festival offers the perfect setting to start your summer.  Give tickets for Valentines Day and ensure your loved one has something to look forward to this summer, come rain or shine.

Romeo and Juliet will commence on Thursday 28 June and runs until Saturday 14 July 2012.  Ticket prices start at just £10.00 for the first night and Monday evening performances, with tickets for other evenings starting from just £17.50 and £18.50. 

To purchase tickets using this fantastic offer simply call our friendly box office team on 01785 254653 and quote ‘Valentine offer’.  Please note this offer can only be redeemed up until Tuesday 28 February, offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers and does not apply to tickets already purchased.

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre starts blogging

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre now has its very own blog which will be updated regularly with all the latest news, behind the scenes pictures and interviews with actors.

To view our blog simply click here

Santa Dash - Sunday 27 November

Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Staff were proud to take part in the Santa Dash to help raise money for Katherine House on Sunday 27 November.  It was fantastic to see 300 Santas running through town, well done to everyone else that took part!

Shakespeare Tickets go on sale!

Tickets for the 2012 Stafford Festival Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet will go on sale on Tuesday 20 September at 9.30am. 

Don’t forget to take advantage of our fantastic early bird offer where you can save a whopping £5 off selected performances.  The early bird offer will be available until Thursday 1 December 2011.

Tickets will be available from this website or by calling our friendly Box Office Team on 01785 254653.

New Season Brochures have arrived

The new Autumn / Winter Season Brochures have now arrived and if you are on our mailing list you should be receiving your copy through the post over the next week.

Don’t forget you can also download a copy of the new brochure from our website on the right hand side of the page.

People Power Prevails as Council gives Stafford Festival Shakespeare the go ahead! 

Date: 6 Jul, 2011

Following the surge of sales for The Comedy of Errors, Stafford Festival Shakespeare and Stafford Borough Council have announced that the production definitely goes ahead next year.

And organisers have revealed the 22^nd performance will be the bards most famous work – Romeo and Juliet.

Thanks to the support from fans of the event, organisers have recognised how passionate the town is about this annual festival and are pleased to be able to guarantee its return next year.

Borough Council leader, Mike Heenan, commented: “The response to this year’s Shakespeare has been fantastic. The reviews and the feedback from people who have seen the performance have been amazing. I’m delighted that we can announce it will be going ahead next year.”

Derrick Gask, Producer of the event, has said, “We are all overjoyed to hear that the event will be returning next year.  Credit has to go to everyone who bought tickets for The Comedy of Errors, we would like to thank everyone that saw the production and hope to see you return to the castle next year.”

The guarantee of Shakespeare at the castle next year follows the ‘use it or lose it call’ after audience numbers had dropped from previous performances. But sales have already beaten last year’s figures - with people still buying tickets for the remaining shows.

Now, following this early decision, Stafford Festival Shakespeare organisers are able to exclusively announce that the 2012 production will see the passionate and poignant classic Romeo and Juliet brought to life in the historical surroundings.  The production will run from 28 June until 14 July 2012.

Tickets for Romeo and Juliet will go on sale in mid-September and a special early bird price will be available until the end of December.  To keep up to date on all information regarding the production people are encouraged to join the official Stafford Festival Shakespeare Facebook Page or join the e-mail list via: www.staffordfestivalshakespeare.co.uk.

June 15th & 16th - Power Cut

We would like to apologise to any customers who might have experienced difficulties when trying to book tickets online during 15th and 16th June. Like many other businesses in the town centre, we  have suffered power cuts on both days and this has caused problems with the server and ultimately the booking system. We do hope to be back up and running asap. 

Box Office and Visitor Services Opening Hours

There has been a change to the opening hours for Box Office and Visitor Services, the new opening hours are: 

Monday - Saturday 10.00am until 5.30pm 

On show nights / performance nights we will be open until 8.00pm 

SFS: “Elements of the unexpected” promised by new cast member

The successful stage and television actress Polly Maberly is the latest person to be announced by producers of Stafford Festival Shakespeare.

Polly, who enjoyed success at the start of her career in the role of Kitty in the BBC series of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, will be joining established actor Rupert Hill, to play Luciana.

Polly’s recent television credits include work on The Royal, Foyle’s War, Holby City, The Bill and Midsummer Murders.   Most recently Polly was seen on our screens as Sarah in Hollyoaks during the gritty trial story line surrounding the rape of character Jacqui McQueen.

No stranger to the stage, Polly has taken part in numerous touring productions including Drowning on Dry Land for Salisbury Playhouse, Hedda Gabler and the tour of When Harry Met Sally in 2008.  A stranger to Stafford, Polly has shared “I’m so looking forward to a bit of the Bard, especially as its comedy and outside in such a great setting.”

Highly experience in out door theatre, Polly enjoyed great success playing Miranda in the A&BC Theatre Co. production of The Tempest in 1999.  Playing to rave reviews the piece had sell out performances at Lincoln Inn Fields, Holborn, it was then recognised by The British Council and taken on tour to Edinburgh, Hong Kong and Trinidad.

When talking about performaning in Trinidad, Polly has explained “we put on the show in various locations; under the arch of huge bamboo plants in the middle of the forest, and under the leaves of an enormous salmon tree where the waves could be heard crashing nearby.  I’m determined this show (The Comedy of Errors) will have similar elements of the unexpected and be equally as magical.”

SFS: Cobbles meet Castle as Corrie Star comes to Stafford

 Stafford Festival Shakespeare producers have exclusively announced that Rupert Hill will be staring in this year's 21st anniversary Production of The Comedy of Errors, open air at Stafford Castle. 

Rupert is a highly established theatrical actor who has appeared in numerous stage productions including the tour of When Harry Met Sally, Once Upon a Time in Wigan (Bolton Octagon) and most recently played Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights (Hull Truck).

Probably, best known for his role in Coronation Street as Jamie Baldwin, Rupert was last seen on our screens at the end of April as his character returned for a special one off episode with his on screen and off screen wife, who plays Violet.  Other television credits include work on The Bill, Family Affairs, Doctors, Eastenders and Holby City.

Producer Derrick Gask has commented: "Confirming on Rupert is a real coup for us.  He is an archetypal theatrical actor with a wealth of stage knowledge and experience, but many people will know him from the huge variety of TV work he has also been involved in."

Local MP supports Stafford Festival Shakespeare in the House of Commons
 
Stafford's Conservative MP, Jeremy Lefroy, has raised awareness of Stafford Festival Shakespeare in the House of Commons. Mr Lefroy suggested that TV broadcasts from the castle could encourage more visitors to the county town.

"I think we have to do more and more to encourage local tourism and I do think that if people see the excitement of a production at somewhere like Stafford Castle, they'd be inclined to say, well, I'll go along and watch that myself next year," said Mr Lefroy. "I always feel that we don't make enough of them. They're done to such a high standard and they should be available to a wider audience.”

The county town's Shakespeare festival started in 1991 and this year celebrates its 21st anniversary. Audiences have grown from less than 4,000 people in its opening year to its present capacity of almost 15,000.

2011 is set to be a significant year for Stafford Festival Shakespeare as it celebrates its 21st anniversary. This year’s production of The Comedy of Errors runs from Thursday 23 June until Saturday 9 July 2011 at Stafford Castle, with ticket prices starting from £10.

To purchase tickets for call Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Box Office on 01785 25463 or book online at www.staffordfestivalshakespeare.co.uk

Theatre Refurb

The main theatre at Stafford Gatehouse is now closed until April 1st while brand new seats are installed. We've gone for a smart new colour scheme and are very excited about the progress. Watch this space for regular updates...

The Theatre seating was completed in time for our opening night 1st April.