A Midsummer Nights Dream performances at Berkeley Castle

We are very excited to announce that this year in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, we will welcome production of 'A Midsummer Nights Dream' back to Berkeley Castle. 

Did you know the play was originally written for a Berkeley family wedding?

On the 19th February 2016 we celebrated the 420th anniversary of the marriage between Lord Thomas Berkeley & Elizabeth Carey, the Berkeley couple whose wedding the world renowned William Shakespeare initially wrote A Midsummer Nights Dream for. This play evolved into one of the most well known and loved plays in theatre to this date. 

Producer Tom Berkeley from Split Second Productions originally contacted us back at the beginning of last year.  From the moment our team met him and his fellow actors their enthusiasm, passion and talent won us all over. 

"It’s a huge honour to bring ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, which holds such a  special place in my family history, back to Berkeley Castle. In July, history will repeat itself; never again will this play be performed at a venue so fitting on such a special anniversary- it is truly unique.This July, ‘The Dream’ comes home"

Tom Berkeley - Producer 

When & Where

Fingers crossed for a balmy summer, the play will be performed in the Berkeley Castle Grounds with the medieval fortress as the backdrop. Your picnic blankets can be spread out and camping chairs popped up, hampers full of homemade goodies opened and of course a glass of something yummy in hand! Then the magic is ready to begin.... 

The performance will feature live music and an array of talented actors & actresses including:

 Ross White as Oberon/Theseus, Hannah Baxter-Eve as Puck, Natasha Ravenscroft as Titania/Hippolyta, Cory Chambers as Lysander, Alex Myers-Allenas Demetrius, Alex Coppola as Bottom, Maddie Hatt as Hermia, Ocean Barrington-Cook as Helena, Jay Parsons as Quince, Angus Berryman as Egeus/Snug, Lucy-May Orange as Starveling and Jarrad Pugh as Flute. 

Tickets

Performances will take place on the following evenings in July this year: 
(for tickets click here)

Sunday 17th July
Monday 18th July
Tuesday 19th July
Wednesday 20th July
Thursday 21st July

Sunday 24th 
Monday 25th
Tuesday 26th 
Wednesday 27th 

Evening Tickets - £15 per adult; £10 per child; £45 for a family ticket 

(entry to the grounds will be from 6.30pm with the performance commencing at 7.30pm) 

There will also be Matinee performances on the following select days: 

(for tickets click here)

Tuesday 19th 

Wednesday 20th 

Thursday 21st

Matinee Tickets - £10 per adult or child 

(entry to the grounds from midday with the performance commencing at 1pm) 

For more information about bringing a large school or association group to a matinee performance please contact us on 01453 810 303. 

A Split Second and PRG Production 

The end of a fantastic season at Berkeley Castle

                                              (Berkeley Castle)

The dust has settled since we closed our gates to visitors for the season just over a month ago! A massive thank you to everyone involved in making 2015 such a fantastic year – from all our wonderful visitors, school groups and the annual dig, to our brilliant team of staff and volunteers who have such an outstanding knowledge of the Castle & its history and who keep everything ticking along.

I caught up with Operations Manager, Jackie, following the closure of the gates. From great visitor numbers to wonderful TripAdvisor reviews…. Jackie has been absolutely delighted with how successful the open season has been this year.

(The Apostles Porch)

Introducing a more family friendly approach with a whole range of fun activities including jester activity sheets, arts and crafts and a dressing up area was all greatly welcomed by our younger visitors (and even some of the parents!). One of the highlights for the year for Jackie was the Easter Dragons, which proved so popular we will be having them back for four whole days from Good Friday next year. The year saw many other entertainers at Berkeley Castle, including: falconry shows; deer hound racing; battling knights; medieval jesters and beastly Berkeley. But one of the most heart-warming aspects of the job for Jackie is seeing happy visitors wandering through the castle with the appreciation that there really is something for everyone here. Whether that be the aforementioned children’s activities, our historical tours of the castle, a peaceful moment of tranquility in the garden, transporting yourself to a tropical paradise in our butterfly house or a delicious afternoon cream tea in the Yurt…. No matter what age, everyone was able to find their own little slice of Berkeley Castle heaven.

(Family Fun) 

Easter is always the busiest time of the year at Berkeley so it is no surprise that Easter Monday saw our highest ever number of visitors, it is truly lovely to think that families make a trip to Berkeley Castle as an annual event. Often we will hear of several generations having visited the castle & grounds with many past generations also having made the trip all those years ago. For example, one of our lovely visitors left us a note to thank us and said that the purpose of their trip was to bring her children after her first visit some 35 years ago! Jackie has also been overwhelmed with the number of people who have taken the time to write such kind comments on our TripAdvisor page. http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g503817-d215314-Reviews-Berkeley_Castle-Berkeley_Cotswolds_England.html

                                  (Jackie & Roland meeting her Royal Highness)

                                                 

A personal highlight for Jackie was our visit from the Countess of Wessex to open our Hidden Treasures Exhibition. The Countess of Wessex arrived at Berkeley Castle by helicopter, welcomed by the children from Berkeley Primary School on arrival. Charles Berkeley then proceeded to give her Royal Highness Sophie a private tour of the Castle. Castle staff & volunteers then gathered in the Great Hall with a select few able to meet her Royal Highness… and of course a classic British Cream Tea was enjoyed by all. Welcoming her Royal Highness to Berkeley Castle was not only an honour but it was also a privilege to meet such a kind and caring member of the royal family.

                                                                                   (Berkeley Castle Grounds) 

After such an exciting year in 2015… You might be asking yourself what you can expect to see next year at Berkeley Castle. Well…. we plan to continue developing the family activities, making sure there is fun for all the family. As well as that we will be putting on a Tudor Festival in May Half Term and also a fantastic performance of the Midsummer Night’s Dream play in celebration of the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Did you know that the play was inspired by a Berkeley Family Wedding? As well as weekly activities during the school holidays such as our entertaining jester, archery, arts & crafts and much more… we also have a very exciting surprise lined up for Easter Weekend! But you will have to keep your eyes and ears open to hear what that is… whilst you wait, here is a lovely video to remind you of lots of the happy times at Berkeley Castle from this year! 

Berkeley Castle will re-open for Easter Weekend from Friday 25th March to Monday 28th  March 2016 and then every Sunday – Wednesday from the 3rd April to 26th October 2016.