Castle shows Shakespeare plays 'as intended'

Peel Castle is the backdrop for this year's production by the group

A touring theatre director has said performing in the open-air in the ruins of an ancient castle allows audiences to experience Shakespeare as it was "originally intended".

A cast of six is set to bring one of the playwright's best known comedies to life in the grounds of Peel Castle and Rushen Abbey this weekend.

The performances of Much Ado About Nothing form part of a 60-castle tour of Europe by the company, which started in June.

Director Paul Stebbings said despite being well experienced in staging shows in historical ruins, the wildlife at Peel Castle had previously posed a challenge because "seagulls have no respect for Shakespeare".

He said one of the seabirds attempted to upstage the actors in a key scene during a previous production of Romeo and Juliet at the site, which was built between the 11th and 14th centuries.

"I had to chase one off the stage that actually was determined to sit on the balcony," he recalled.

He said venues on the tour ranged from ruins to stately homes and the logistics of performing in castles were sometimes "pretty tricky" because ultimately castles were "designed not to get into".

Stebbings has strong links to the island through both family connections and his involvement in several previous productions.

Those include writing and directing the Ghost of Illiam Dhone, portraying the life and times of Manx martyr William Christian, in conjunction with the Manx Heritage Foundation a decade ago.

The production involves a cast of six and "lots of costume changes"

His latest Shakespearian endeavour, being staged in conjunction with Manx National Heritage, is set in Messina and revolves around a plot to make two friends fall in love.

He said using Peel Castle as the setting allowed the cast to get closer to the audience, in turn allowing those watching to see the play as the writer had "designed".

"The actors get up close so the audience see the whites of their eyes, which I think is important," he said.

"These plays were not designed to have clunky big scene changes," he added.

The production by TNT and the American Theatre Group is set to get underway in the grounds of Peel Castle at 18:00 BST, with a repeat performance a Rushen Abbey at 14:00 on Sunday.