The HandleBards present:
Macbeth
Something bike-powered this way comes..
Directed by Emma Sampson
UK Tour 4 June – 19 September
“Explodes with energy and is a genuine treat from start to finish” ★★★★★ The Stage (on Twelfth Night)
@HandleBards | #HandleBardsMacbeth | handlebards.com
Cycling from theatre to farm, from castle to park, The HandleBards’ all-female company are touring their irreverent Macbeth across the UK this summer. The most environmentally friendly Shakespearean theatre company there is, and naturally one of the most Covid-safe, are packing The Scottish Play onto their bikes and taking it to outdoor venues. To ensure good sight lines for a socially distanced audience, the company are using a bespoke wooden stage with bicycle powered mechanisms, which travels with them in an electric van, in order to keep their emissions as low as possible. Forget the tears and tragedy – this is a frantic, delirious, full-of-beans, bike-powered farce!
The HandleBards sister company Slapstick Picnic will also be touring with a two-person The Importance of Being Earnest from 26th June.
Macbeth director Emma Sampson said, “It’s great to get back into the rehearsal room with the HandleBards. Working with them is always the most fun job of my calendar year and the all-female cast has been a delight to direct. They are truly three of the funniest women I have ever met in my life.”
The HandleBards began with a sense of adventure, a love of Shakespeare and a nifty little pun. Since four fearless friends (Callum Brodie, Callum Cheatle, Tom Dixon and Paul Moss) pedalled Twelfth Night to twenty UK venues in 2013, the company has grown to become an internationally renowned theatre company, bringing a uniquely irreverent brand of Shakespeare to audiences all over the globe. The HandleBards travel by bike because they care about the planet and want to promote sustainability and healthy living. In 2014, they won the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award. They were nominated again in 2015, and in 2016 were nominated for The Stage’s inaugural Sustainability Award.
The HandleBards share actors and creatives with new sister company Slapstick Picnic including theatre director Nel Crouch (RSC, Young Vic), using their experience of outdoor theatre and adapting Shakespeare to produce classic tales with an untraditional twist.
Running Time: 2hrs (inc interval) | Suitable for ages 8+
Company information
Produced by Tom Dixon and Paul Moss Directed by Emma Sampson
Designed by Lucy Green Musical Direction by Guy Hughes
Stage design by Mark Parsons (Studio Polpo) Assistant Direction by Olivia Race
Bicycle mechanism design by Electric Pedals
Cast
Kathryn Perkins, Natalie Simone, Jenny Smith
Listings information
4 June – 19 September
Tickets from www.handlebards.com/tickets
4 June Wellesley Woodlands, Surrey
Fleet Road, Aldershot, Surrey GU11 2HL
7pm | £16 – Free
6 June The Walled Garden, Luton Hoo Estate
Luton, LU1 4FL
7pm | £18 – Free
8 June The Quarry Theatre, Bedford
26 St Peter’s Street, Bedford MK40 2NN
7.30pm | £14 – £12
9 June The Millennium Pavilion, Cambridgeshire
The Trundle, Somersham, Cambridgeshire PE28 3JS
7pm | £18 – Free
10 June Stow Hall Gardens, King’s Lynn
Stow Bardolph, King’s Lynn, PE34 3HU
7pm | £18 – Free
11 June Castle Acre Priory, King’s Lynn
King’s Lynn, PE32 2XD
7pm | £18 – Free
12 June Pensthorpe Natural Park, Norfolk
Fakenham, Norfolk NR 21 0LN
7pm | £18 – Free
13 June North Lodge Park, Cromer
6 Overstrand Road, Cromer NR27 0AH
7pm | £15 – £10
15 June St George’s Theatre, Norfolk
King Street, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk NR30 2PG
7pm | £10
17 June The Seagull, Lowestoft
Morton Road, Pakefield, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR33 0RU
7pm | £10
(Indoor performance)
18 June Framlingham Castle
Church Street, Framlingham IP13 9BP
Luton, LU1 4FL
7pm | £18 – Free
19 June Diss Park
9 Park Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4AU
7pm | £18 – Free
20 June Hollow Trees Farm, Ipswich
Semer,Ipswich IP7 6HX
7pm | £18 – Free
23 June Layer Marney Tower, Essex
Nr. Colchester, Essex C05 9US
7pm | £18 – Free
24 June South Mill Arts
1 -3 South Road, Bishop’s Stortford CM23 3JG
7pm | £16.50
(Indoor performance)
25 June Shuttleworth Estate, Biggleswade
Old Warden, Biggleswade, SG18 9EP
7pm | £18 – Free
26 June Old Royal Naval College, London
London SE10 9NN
7pm | £17
27 June Home Farm Glamping, Borehamwood
Aldenham Road, Elstree, Borehamwood WD6 3AZ
7pm | £18 – Free
30 June – 1 July Globe Neuss, Germany
Hammer Landstraße 2, Neuss, 41460 Germany
3pm and 7pm | Ticket prices TBC
7 July Cogges, Whitney
Church Lane, Witney, OX28 3LA
7pm | £16.50 – £10
8 July EM Forster Theatre, Kent
Tunbridge School, High Street, Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1JP
7pm | £18 – Free
9 July Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead
Altwood Road, Maidenhead, SL6 4FP
8pm | £17 – £15
10 July Maumbury Rings, Dorchester
Dorchester, DT1 1TY
7pm | £14 – £12
11 July Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis
Church Street Lyme Regis, Dorset DT7 3QA
7pm | £17 – 10
13 July The Hall, Bradford-On-Avon
Holt Rd, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire BA15 1AJ
7pm | £18 – Free
14 July Corsham Almshouses, Corsham
Pound Pill, Corsham, SN13 9HT
7pm | £12 – £10
15 July St Michaels Park, Cirencester
St Michaels Park, King St, Cirencester, Gloucestershire GL7 1JT
7pm | £18 – Free
16 July Painswick Rococo Garden, Painswick
Gloucester Road, Painswick, Gloucestershire GL6 6TH
6.30pm | £18 – Free
17 – 21 July Pudlicote House, Chipping Norton
Pudlicote, Chipping Norton, OX7 3HX
2pm & 7pm | £16 – £14
22 July Coventry Cathedral, Coventry
Priory Street, Coventry, CV1 5FB
7pm | £18 – Free
23 July Moira Furnace Museum, Swadlincote
Furnace Lane, Swadlincote, DE12 6AT
7pm | £15 – £10
24 July Southwell Minster and the Archbishop’s Palace, Southwell
Church Street, Southwell, NG25 0HD
7pm | £18 – Free
25 July Cromford Mills, Cromford
Mill Rd, Cromford, Matlock DE4 3RQ
7pm | £18 – Free
27 July High Lea Park, New Mills
St Mary’s Road, New Mills, SK22 3BW
7pm | £30 – £8
28 July Ordsall Hall, Salford
22 Ordsall Lane, Salford, Greater Manchester M5 3AN
7pm |. £18 – Free
30 July Hoghton Tower, Preston
Hoghton, Preston PR5 0SH
7pm | £18 – Free
31 July Lancaster Castle, Lancaster
Castle Park, Lancaster, LA1 1YJ
7pm | £18 – Free
1 August The Richard Whiteley Theatre, North Yorkshire
Giggleswick School, Settle, North Yorkshire BD24 0DE
5pm | £18 – Free
5 August Bolton Castle, Near Leyburn
Near Leyburn, DL8 4ET United Kingdom
7pm | £18 – Free
6 August Kiplin Hall, Richmond
Richmond, DL10 6AT
7pm | £18 – Free
11 August Hexham Abbey, Hexham
Hexham, NE46 3NB
7pm | £18 – Free
12 August Rede Tyne & Coquet Sports Centre, Northumberland
Otterburn Northumberland NE19 1HE
7pm | £18 – Free
13 August Northumberlandia, Northumberland
Blagdon Lane. Cramlington, Northumberland NE23 8AQ
7pm | £18 – Free
17 August Heeley People’s Park, Heeley
View Rd, Heeley, Sheffield S2 3DJ
7pm | Pay What You Can
19 August Lawrence Batley Theatre, Huddersfield
Queen’s Square, Queen Street, Huddersfield, HD1 2SP
3pm & 7pm | £12
20 – 21 August Holker Hall and Gardens, Cark
Holker, Cark, LA11 7PL
6.30pm | £12.45 – Free
22 August Theatr Clywd, Mold
Raikes Lane, Mold, CH7 1YA
7pm | £12
24 August Monkey Park, Chesterfield
128 Chester Street, Chesterfield, S40 1DN
7pm | Pay What You Can
26 August Thirlestane Castle, Lauder
Lauder, Borders, TD2 6RU
7pm | £18 – Free
31 August Scone Palace, Perth
Perth, PH2 6BD
7pm | £18 – Free
1 September Glamis Castle, Forfar
Glamis, Forfar, Angus, DD8 1RJ
7pm | £18 – Free
2 September House of Dun, Montrose
Dun, Montrose, DD10 9LQ
7pm | £18 – Free
5 September Haddo House, Ellon
Methlick, Ellon, Aberdeenshire AB41 7EQ
7pm | £18 – Free
9 September Cawdor Castle, Cawdor
Cawdor, Nairn, IV12 5RD
7pm | £16.50 – £10
12 September Strawberry Hill House, Twickenham
68 Waldegrave Road, Twickenham, Greater London TW1 4ST
7pm | £18 – Free
14 September Biggin Hill Memorial Museum, Westerham
Main Road, Westerham, TN15 3EJ
7pm | £18 – Free
15September Warninglid Grange, Haywards Heath
Warninglid Lane, Haywards Heath, RH17 5TQ
7pm | Pay What You Can
17 – 18 September The Church Field, Witley
Witley, GU8 5PP
7pm | £18 – Free
19 September The Phoenix Theatre and Arts Centre, Bordon
Station Road, Bordon, Hampshire GU35 0LR
7pm | £15 – Free
Supported by Arts Council England and Pashley Cycles