14th Leeds Shakespeare Festival
Kirkstall Abbey Cloisters, Leeds
Tuesday 21st July to Saturday 9th August 2009Kirkstall Abbey Cloisters provide an idyllic setting for two of Shakespeare’s most popular plays A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.
Performed in beautiful Elizabethan costumes by a cast of 16 of Britain’s finest professional Shakespearian actors the shows will include live music and hilarious comedy all set in the stunning natural surroundings that Shakespeare intended for his plays.
A magical open-air festival of love, laughter and amorous adventure, performed by a company that continues to delight audiences and critics alike.
1st Sheffield Shakespeare Festival
The Sheffield Botanical Gardens,
Monday 17th to Wednesday 19th August 2009
Sheffield Botanical Gardens cover 19 acres and were first opened in 1836. Originally designed by Robert Marnock in the Gardenesque style, the site now has fifteen different garden areas featuring collections of plants from all over the world, including Mediterranean, Asian, American prairie-style, woodland and rock-and-water plantings. The National Collections of Weigela and Diervilla are sited here. The Gardens contain several listed buildings including the restored Grade II* listed curvilinear Glass Pavilions, some of the earliest ever built, which were officially re-opened by HRH The Prince of Wales on 1 September 2003.