Up The Road and Unity Theatres to Launch BARDOLPH'S BOX Tour

Up The Road Theatre and the Unity Theatre are excited to announce their new 2016 tour; BARDOLPH'S BOX, a small-scale, Shakespeare-inspired production for 8-to-12-year-olds, celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare's work. The tour will begin at Unity Theatre, Liverpool on Tuesday 1st March then continues to visit schools, libraries and theatres across the England's South East, ending in The Stag Plaza, Sevenoaks on Saturday 26 March 2016.

Up The Road Theatre are a new company based in Kent and are delighted to join forces with Liverpool's Unity Theatre to create a work that explores the Bard's role in literature, culture and history.

BARDOLPH'S BOX will inspire the younger generation and make Shakespeare fun. The touring company compromises of 3 actors: one to play Bardolph, Falstaff's sidekick from Henry IV's, Henry V and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and the other two playing a host of characters from Shakespeare's plays. The production will engage and include the audience by exploring the issues of each character as they visit Bardolph in search of assistance, by voting and en-masse contributions. The experienced actors will create a fun and safe atmosphere, and encourage rather than demand interaction.

The company will focus on some of Shakespeare's lesser known plays and characters, such as The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors and the Nurse from Romeo and Juliet. Their exchanges with Bardolph will include both modern English and extracts from the plays, Bardolph himself has a quest of his own, which the characters and audience can help with. Many young children are initially put off from Shakespeare's complicated language, but this production utilises Shakespeare's language in a manner that makes it easier for a younger audience to understand.

Nicola Pollard, Director and Founder of Up The Road Theatre, said: "We're really looking forward to introducing children (and their families!) to Bardolph and his wonderful world. Through an exciting myriad of characters, we're exploring a number of Shakespeare's plays, including 'The Comedy of Errors', 'Antony and Cleopatra', 'The Tempest' and 'Twelfth Night'. Our audience will be encouraged to help young Bardolph on his first big adventure, as he gets his friends out of fixes and deliberates their dilemmas. With live music, plenty of puppetry and a good dollop of humour, 'Bardolph's Box' is a brilliant way to celebrate Shakespeare 400th anniversary!"

Matthew Linley, Chief Executive and Artistic Director at the Unity Theatre said: "We're all really excited to be working alongside Up The Road Theatre to help little Bardolph come into the world - or rather into a library, school, arts venue or community hall near you. Developing Bardolph's Box is very much part of our ongoing commitment to making great work for under 12s and their families."

Join Bardolph, on a roller-coaster ride through Shakespeare's stories. Who will you meet? Where will you go? Can you get his pals out of a pickle? One thing's for sure, you'll have a whole lot of fun along the way!

BARDOLPH'S BOX SOUTH WEST DATES:

Avenue Theatre, Sittingbourne, Kent

Monday 14 March 2016, 1.30pm

Admission: £7 adults / £6 child

Call 01795 471140 or visit www.avenuetheatre.co.uk

Minster Library, Ramsgate, Kent

Tuesday 15 March 2016, 10.15am

Free Admission

Call 0151 709 4988

Ramsgate Library, Kent

Tuesday 15 March 2016, 2pm

Free Admission

Call 0151 709 4988

Astor Theatre, Deal, Kent

Thursday 17 March 2016, 1.30pm and 7.30pm

Admission: £7 adults / £6 child

Call 01304 370220 or visit www.theastor.org

Ashford Library, Kent

Saturday 19 March, 10.30am

Free Admission

Call 0151 709 4988

Horsebridge Arts Centre, Whitstable, Kent

Monday 21 March 2016, 1pm and 4.30pm

Admission: £6

Call 01277 281174 or visit www.thehorsebridge-centre.org.uk

The Woodville, Gravesend, Kent

Tuesday 22 March 2016, 2pm

Admission: £8 (£5 concession)

Call 08442 439480 or visit www.woodville.co.uk

Sandwich Library, Kent

Wednesday 23 March 2016, 10.15am

Free Admission

Call 0151 709 4988

Rye Creative Centre, East Sussex

Thursday 24 March 2016, 1.30pm

Admission: £5

Call 01797 229797 or visit www.ryecreative.co.uk

Exchange Studio, Maidstone, Kent

Friday 25 March 2016, 7pm

Admission: £9 (£8 concession / £7 child)

Call 01622 758611 or visit www.parkwoodtheatre.co.uk

The Stag Plaza, Sevenoaks, Kent

Saturday 26 March 2016, 2.30pm

Admission: £6

Call 01732 450175 or visit www.stagsevenoaks.co.uk

Up The Road Theatre are a young company based in Kent. Their aim is to create work for audiences in the south-east. Their work explores literature, culture and history. They are interested in what makes people tick and providing audiences with a good time. Born out of a desire to contribute to the cultural life of The Garden of England, Up The Road Theatre has just received their first grant from Arts Council England. Up The Road are a fledging theatre company founded by Nicola Pollard. The company are especially eager to visit areas with low cultural engagement. Bardolph's Box marks the start of their plans to create work with literary and historical relevance - their second production will explore the maritime history of our coastline.

Unity Theatre is one of the best loved theatres in Liverpool, recently winning Best Performing Venue at the Mersey Partnership Tourism Awards. Sitting alongside their programme of edgy, radical and contemporary work is an equally important commitment to producing and presenting work for under 12s. Their talent development programmes have aided the establishment of many of the UK's top touring companies including Told by an Idiot, AD Infinitum and Kaboodle. Recent productions include 4-star productions of Princess and the Pea and Rumpelstiltskin (with Action Transport), Lampedusa (with Soho Theatre and Hightide) and Chicken (with Eastern Angles) as well as productions of Chris Gribnall's Gaffer, Bruce Norris' Clybourne Park and an international touring production of David Yip's Gold Mountain.