Malachite Theatre Company to Present RICHARD II at St. Leonard's Church, 2 July - 7 August

Richard II by William Shakespeare, presented by Malachite Theatre Company, is playing at St Leonard's Church, Shoreditch between Wed 2nd July and Sat 2nd Aug 2014.

Richard II is a story of plotting, intrigue, betrayal and power. Shakespeare's lyric masterpiece, it is a unique production taking place in the stunning site-specific location of St Leonard's Church, Shoreditch.

St Leonard's was an the Elizabethan actors' church and Shakespeare's local when he lived in nearby Bishopsgate. Many of the Elizabethan theatrical fraternity are buried under the crypt. Including three Burbages, notably Richard Burbage who was the first to play Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard 3rd, Othello and Romeo. So the first Romeo is buried in the crypt where Shakespeare placed the final scene of his tragic play.

5-star theatre company The Malachites aim to bring the 19 plays Shakespeare wrote while in residence at Bishopsgate back to Shoreditch. Reconnecting the people of Shoreditch with Shakespeare, particularly through his early work. Much of which premie?red at the Theatre and the Curtain in the late 16th Century.

The Malachites continue to cycle through Shakespeare's early work in the summer of 2014 with two productions: Richard II at St Leonard's and A Midsummer Night's Dream over the site of the original Curtain Theatre - Rockwell House Rooftop.