This summer, The HandleBards bring you a wacky and wonderful Macbeth AND a fast-paced and farcical As You Like It to beautiful outdoor spaces across the UK.
About the season
This summer, The HandleBards have two troupes out on tour until 12 Sep. Meredith Lewis, Marianne Kelly, and Jazz Harbour are taking Macbeth across the UK by electric van.
Directed by Ellice Stevens, the trio bring environmentally sustainable Shakespeare to outdoor venues.
Forget the tears and tragedy, this Macbeth is chock full of mishaps, mayhem and mirth.
Also, a quartet of intrepid actor-cyclists (Joel Benedict, Sarah Bulmer, Isobel Donkin, Josh Radcliffe) are making The HandleBards history by embarking on their longest cycle EVER.
They are bringing environmentally sustainable Shakespeare in As You Like It (directed by Mark Collier) to outdoor venues across the UK until 11 Sep.
Pedalling from venue to venue with all of their set, props and costumes on the back of their bikes, they will be pedalling 1,800 miles, including 85,000km of hill climbing!
Who are The HandleBards?
The HandleBards began with a sense of adventure, a love of Shakespeare and a nifty little pun.
Since four fearless friends pedalled Twelfth Night to twenty UK venues in 2013, thirteen years of epic outdoor tours commenced.
They perform in ancient castles, beautiful gardens, stately homes and community spaces spanning the UK and abroad.
For this summer’s run of As You Like It, The HandleBards are working with Extant, a theatre company that makes work with visually impaired artists and for visually impaired audiences. With their assistance, the show integrates audio description and accessible gags and jokes for visually impaired audiences, without us having to carry audio description tech or change the Shakespearean language.
I asked co-founder and producer Tom Dixon what he had to say about The HandleBards summer season shows:
Describe the shows and The HandleBards ethos.
Our shows this year are as playful as ever, with the staple HandleBards tropes of fast-paced comedy, gorgeous music and plenty of picnic stealing…
How do you manage to plan an outdoor season like this?
Sorting the logistics for any outdoor theatre tour is a lot of work; with The HandleBards we have the added complication of cycling …
… training the actors to be proficient cyclists and planning a route between venues. It’s a lot of work and something that our incredible producer Will excels at.
Why is outdoor theatre so important?
I think outdoor touring work has always been a great leveller – bringing affordable theatre to venues right on your door step.
As the cost of living crisis continue this sort of work is more important than ever. It democratises theatre, preventing it from becoming an exclusive art form to those who can afford it or who live in cities.
The HandleBards are currently touring both shows and will be in London with Macbeth on 14 Jul (Charterhouse) and with As You Like It on 4 Jul (Strawberry Hill House & Garden) and 7 Jul (Royal Hospital Chelsea).
Their full list of dates UK-wide can be found at: https://www.handlebards.com/tickets/