Gawsworth Hall Open-Air Shakespeare Festival 2009

See photographs from the 2009 shows.

Gawsworth Hall, Cheshire
Weds 1st to Sun 5th July 2009

"Sheer joy, one of the most joyful productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream you will see." Yorkshire Post

Gawsworth Hall in Cheshire provides a magnificent and idyllic backdrop for Shakespeare’s best loved romantic comedies, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing.

This is one of the most beautiful and fitting settings one could imagine for open-air Shakespeare as this charming Tudor manor was home to Mary Fitton is thought to be the the “Dark Lady” of the Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

These productions will be performed in beautiful Elizabethan costumes by a cast of 16 of Britain’s finest professional Shakespearian actors and 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.

Gawsworth Hall

An ancient manor house wrapped in romance, intrigue and great charm. Here you will find the Fitton family Chapel, first licensed in 1365, and still used by the family today.
 
The original Norman house was rebuilt in 1480 and, following extensive remodelling in 1701, was the subject of the most famous duel in English history in 1712 Lord Mohun and the Duke of Hamilton fought over the estates and both duellists were killed.

Here lived Mary Fitton, the younger daughter of Sir Edward and Lady Alice Fitton (Sir Edward had inherited Gawsworth Hall on the death of his father in 1579). Mary is possibly the Dark Lady of Shakespeare’s Sonnets. Her short, but brilliant career at the Court of Queen Elizabeth I (where she was appointed Maid of Honour in 1596) ended in 1602 following a rather wild affair with the Earl of Pembroke - she became pregnant, a matter that so outraged the Virgin Queen that both she and the Earl were sent to the Tower for an undisclosed period.

The tilting ground forms part of a vast Elizabethan pleasure garden of approximately 30 acres, at the time being set within a larger park of some 600 acres - a vast private estate for the enjoyment of the Fittons and their guests. After Mary's disgrace from court the Fitton finances never recovered and, at the end of the English Civil War, a long legal battle began between Sir Charles Gerard (later the 1st Earl of Macclesfield) and Alexander Fitton over the Gawsworth estates.

This battle was eventually settled in 1663, but events came to a head again in 1701 with the death of Fitton Gerard (the 3rd Earl of Macclesfield) who left no male heirs.

The estate was left to a niece, Lady Mohun, and was contested by another niece, the Duchess of Hamilton. It was this dispute that culminated in the famous duel.
 
Samuel Johnson, the last professional jester in the country, lived in the house and, eccentric to the last, he lies buried in the spinney know as ‘Maggoty Johnson’s Wood’.

Owned, run and much loved by the Richards family, a visit to this charming ancient manor house makes a delightful day out for all the family. Between June and August, there are a wide range of events in the Open Air Theatre.

Additional information: www.gawsworthhall.com

Google map: click here