Pop Up Shakespearean Theater: New Shakespeare plays will be staged in next 10 weeks

World
Europe

02:23

A new pop up theatre called "The Shakespeare Rose" opened its doors on Monday in YORK, North East England. The actual structure was finished within just over two weeks. Take a look.

The temporary venue is made with intricate scaffolding and is similar to London's Shakespeare Globe Theatre, but Producer James Cundall says this isn't just a copy.

JAMES CUNDALL PRODUCER "It's not a replica of anything in particular. It's what Shakespeare, and Henry Cundall my ancestor, would recognize as a Shakespearean theatre. It's 13-sided, it's three stories high, it seats 660 people, it's got 300 standing and it's going to be the home for the next 10 weeks of four great Shakespeare plays, new plays, new productions."

Shakespeare's Rose Theatre estimates the venue is made with 30,000 cubic metres of scaffolding as well as timber, plaster and a thatched roof that is open in the centre.

The actual structure started and was finished within about 17 days. It took about 11,000 man hours and 40/50 trucks on site to build.

LEANDRA ASHTON ACTRESS "It's remarkable. I mean it seats 950 people and it's open air, it's made of scaffolding. It's incredibly exciting to be in as soon as you step onto the stage it feels very intimate and it feels like you're kind of being embraced by the audience."

RICHARD STANDING ACTOR "It's true nobody is more than 15 metres away which is, which is, which is really special and also pop up, it's been called a pop up but it didn't pop up this was like so much effort and gargantuan amounts of work and design but I really think it worked and I really think it's paid off."

When asked if William Shakespeare visited York, James Cundall says.

JAMES CUNDALL PRODUCER "We don't know. We know his troupe did but there's no historical records that he got here. We think he put, the inference is that if his troupe came he would come with them but he didn't sign a bit of graffiti anyway going 'Will was here', you know so little is known about Shakespeare. There's only nine different bits of his handwriting, we think."

The temporary space will showcase four plays including Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream before it closes September the 2nd this year.