Dame Judi Dench hails Merseyside's new Shakespeare theatre

Dame Judi Dench is patron of Shakespeare North

Actress Dame Judi Dench has described her "excitement" as construction begins on a new £27m Shakespeare theatre on Merseyside.

Cranes have moved to the site in Prescot, which will be home to the Shakespeare North Playhouse.

The 350-seat replica Elizabethan theatre has been mooted as the third point in a "Bard triangle" connecting London and Stratford-upon-Avon.

Shakespeare is long believed to have visited Prescot.

There is no firm evidence for the playwright's movements in the area, but it did boast the only purpose-built Elizabethan theatre outside London during his lifetime.

The interior of the theatre will be built to a 1629 design

It was built in 1593 and was possibly used as a base for actors who had left capital when theatres were closed during the plague.

Dame Judi, who is patron of Shakespeare North, said: "It is the excitement of seeing something new and experiencing something that perhaps you never thought of.

"Everyone should be able to follow the Shakespearean triangle. London to Stratford-upon-Avon to Prescot. How exciting is that."

The new theatre is due to open in 2022.

The replica theatre will boast a modern exterior