LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST Comes to Shakespeare North Playhouse and The Stephen Joseph Theatre
The show begins performances at Shakespeare North Playhouse from Friday 28 February.
By: Stephi Wild
A vibrant new adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, Love’s Labour’s Lost (more or less), has been announced for spring 2025 in a co-production between Scarborough’s Stephen Joseph Theatre and Prescot’s Shakespeare North Playhouse.
The show follows on from the huge success of the two theatres’ co-production of The Comedy of Errors (more or less) in the spring of 2023, which was UK Theatre Award-nominated.
This new adaptation, again by Elizabeth Godber and Nick Lane, will set Shakespeare’s story in mid-90s Ibiza.
A stag do in Ibiza. A hen do in Menorca. What could go wrong? Everything…
The stags have made a solemn promise to each other: this is a boys’ weekend. Don’t talk to any girls, don’t even think about any girls and most importantly, do not contact the hens.
The hens are ready for fun in the sun when the resort calls to say they’ve had to relocate them… to a hotel in Ibiza. Both groups of revellers are stuck on the same Mediterranean island. Cue: shoddy disguises, mislaid love letters and theatrical chaos.
Shakespeare's riotous comedy is brought to life in the nineties, featuring belting musical numbers in the era of boy bands and Girl Power.
Co-writer Elizabeth Godber says: “I’m so excited to be back working with Nick, the SJT and Shakespeare North on another hilarious Shakespeare adaptation. Love's Labour's Lost is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, and to get the chance to play around with the language, develop the (already great) female characters, and add in plenty of 1990s pop classics has been an absolute joy! I can’t wait for audiences to come and see the show” it's funny, irreverent, and I'm sure Shakespeare would approve – he would have definitely been a Britpop fan!”
Director Paul Robinson, who is Artistic Director at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, says: “We had the most enormous fun making The Comedy of Errors (more or less) in the spring of 2023, and our audiences did too! We couldn’t resist following it up with another of the Bard’s early comedies, this time set a decade later in the midst of the party era that was the 1990s. We’ll again be including some great music from the period, and just wait until you see those 90s fashions again…”
Laura Collier, Creative Director of Shakespeare North Playhouse, says: “After the success of our 2023 co-production of Comedy of Errors (more or less) – a show so entertaining that people kept coming back for more – we knew we had to join forces again.
"We're absolutely thrilled to be working with the Stephen Joseph Theatre again, alongside talented writers Nick Lane and Elizabeth Godber. We all share a deep love for Shakespeare and his timeless tales, and a passion for exploring and presenting fresh, exciting perspectives and reworkings. A perfect foundation for an outrageously fun Love’s Labour’s Lost. We can’t wait to see what lies in store when we’re all transported back to the 90s.”
Love’s Labour’s Lost (more or less) can be seen at Shakespeare North Playhouse from Friday 28 February to Saturday 22 March 2025, and at the Stephen Joseph Theatre from Thursday 27 March to Saturday 19 April 2025.
Tickets are available from the Shakespeare North Playhouse box office on 0151 433 7156 and online at www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk from Wednesday 21 August; and from the Stephen Joseph Theatre box office on 01723 370541 and online at www.sjt.uk.com from Wednesday 4 September.
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