Off the Ground Theatre return to venues across the north west, Wales and Ireland this summer, now into their fourth decade of touring theatre, with one of Shakespeare’s best-loved plays, Twelfth Night.
Landing in the strange world of Illyria, having been separated by a shipwreck, twins Sebastian and Viola must navigate a strange world of boisterous characters and enough love triangles to make a mad hatter dizzy. Drawing inspiration from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, this production imagines Illyria as the other side of the metaphorical rabbit hole, with a kaleidoscopic explosion of colour and wonder, underscored by pop hits from across the ages. If Alice meets the strange and wonderful characters of her adventures in Wonderland in search of meaning, then for Viola and the cast of quirks for this Twelfth Night are searching for the other half of themselves. Whether that be twin, lover or friend.
Following the success of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing in previous summers, OTG return to the great British & Irish outdoors for another Shakespearean treat, with something for all the family to enjoy. Twelfth Night was the very first production that Off the Ground Theatre took on tour, all the way back in 1995!
Co-Directing this year’s touring production is OTG Youth Theatre graduate Ben Newman, who now works as Associate Director at Oxford Playhouse. Ben also directed OTG’s production of Much Ado About Nothing in 2024. Also Co-Directing is Kathryn McGurk, who has been with Off the Ground Theatre for more than ten years, having trained at Liverpool & Everyman Theatre’s Young Everyman & Playhouse Programme (YEP).
Founded in 1994, Off the Ground Theatre have been creating theatre for audiences of the UK and wider Europe for more than 30 years. From Shakespeare to Terry Pratchett, the stories have evolved and been presented in numerous forms. Based on the Wirral, the company now specialise in classics (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Comedy of Errors) and exciting adventure stories (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Sinbad, Zorro, The Musketeers), as well as looking for and promoting new works.
Off the Ground Theatre champion access to drama and theatre for young people, often promoting from within their own youth theatre set up to their professional company, or seeking local emerging talent from other programmes of excellence, such as Cronton 6th Form College’s Professional Theatre Programme, Young Everyman and Playhouse, Storyhouse Young Company, LIPA, Liverpool John Moore’s University, The Hammond, and many more. This year is no different, with OTG Youth Theatre graduate Harry Clark heading out on tour with the company. Morgan Lewis, playing Orsino, is a graduate from Storyhouse Young Company.
Kathryn said:
‘This is without doubt one of the stranger Shakespeare plays out there. Filled with intrigue and discovery, tenderness and heart, it really lends itself to the concept that Ben and I have applied. The enormity of the characters allows for the Wonderland-esque weirdness to really come to the fore. We can’t wait to see audiences’ reactions!’
Tickets are on sale now for all venues across the UK & Ireland for what promises to be a wonderful summer. So get yours booked and get along to your local venue this summer – bring something to sit on, a picnic and your favourite beverage. Soak up the sun and be transported for an evening!