We're bringing Shakespeare to a Sunderland park this week - with a Bridgerton twist

“We don’t believe that location, finance or accessibility issues should be a barrier to accessing theatre in your home town,” say the group behind a unique take on Shakespeare.

Theatre Space North East, which has its headquarters in Sunniside, is back for its 13th season bringing the Bard to people’s doorsteps.

Over the years, they’ve built up a following with their productions, which see them perform Shakespearean classics in various locations in city parks, the audience making their way through the locations with them.

This year, their summer season will see them perform Twelfth Night - with a twist.

From Thursday, July 23 to Sunday, July 25, the actors will perform a modern-verse translation of Shakespeare’s comedy by Alison Carey, in association with Play On Shakespeare, with sets the play in the Bridgerton era.

Their Summer of Shakespeare season will also see them bring King Lear to Southpaw Studio at Sheepfolds Stables from Thursday, August 27 to Sunday, August 30 - again with a twist.

The iconic tragedy is reimagined within a contemporary social care system in a modern verse translation by Marcus Gardley.

The performances are free, with an optional donation, and director, Corinne Kilvington, says it’s important to make Bard accessible to all.

“We don’t believe that location, finance or accessibility issues should be a barrier to accessing theatre in your home town,” she told the Echo.

“We’re super excited to be back in Barnes Park. We’ll be moving to a few locations throughout the park and it means the audience can ask questions and discuss things with each other in between scenes, so it really populates the space. The actors will answer any questions but they stay in character and move in character.”

Speaking about the play being set in the Regency era, Corinne said: “Regency England is all about status and money being important, whereas being different and unknown is a threat, which we are not too far from now.

“King Lear, meanwhile, looks at how we look after our older people in society.”

Thanks to support from Sunderland City of Events, it will see the troupe return to the park for the first time since 2022.

The Twelfth Night production will then tour to the recently refurbished chandelier suite at The Assembly Rooms in Newcastle from July 29-30, before finally moving on to Palace Green at the Durham Fringe Festival from July 31-August 2.

Summer of Shakespeare takes place in July and August. More information on the productions can be found at https://www.theatrespace.org.uk/shows/lear-2026