The final member of the cast is Sarah Middleton who will play Bianca in The Taming of the Shrew and Miranda in The Tempest. Trained at Birmingham School of Acting, she has appeared with the Birmingham Rep and the National Theatre, and was also a finalist in the BBC’s search for a Dorothy in Over The Rainbow.

The cast are now in rehearsals and looking forward to our opening shows at Exeter Castle in 3 weeks time. Tickets are on sale for most venues. These are going to be fabulous shows – please tell your family, friends and work colleagues.

GB Theatre Company and Norwich Cathedral are delighted to announce that renowned and respected Shakespearean actor, Desmond Barrit has agreed to be the Patron of the Norwich Cathedral Shakespeare Festival for 2012. Desmond is well known in Norfolk for his involvement in local companies and his direction of many Christmas Pantomines. He is a favourite of ours because of his work in Shakespeare and anyone who saw his recent Falstaff for the Sir Peter Hall Company at The Theatre Royal in Bath will agree that he was magnificent! He will be Falstaff again for the RSC but this time in The Merry Wives of Windsor.

We asked Des to give us a few words to kick off the Norwich Cathedral Season:

“Shakespeare is my favourite playwright and Norwich one of my favourite cities. To be asked to be the Patron of the 4th Shakespeare Festival at Norwich Cathedral is for me a great honour and privilege.

I don’t think anyone can deny that Shakespeare is the greatest playwright ever and the plays in this year’s Festival, The Tempest and The Taming of the Shrew, are two of the Bard’s greatest plays.

To see this professional company perform these plays in the cloisters of the Cathedral will be a real treat. I’ll be there, so join me for a memorable night out.”

After many weeks of auditioning we are delighted to announce the Cast for our 2012 tour are (in alphabetical order): Dermot Canavan, David Davies, Peter Dineen, Christopher Dingli, Daniel Dingsdale, Lennox Greaves, Tom Kay, Gwilym Lloyd, Lucia McAnespie and Simon Yadoo. One more cast member will be announced in the next week.

Three of the members have performed with GB Theatre on previous tours - David Davies, Lennox Greaves and the fabulous Lucia McAnespie who will play Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew. [ Cast biographies ]

A special thank you to Jenny Stephens, Jack Shepherd and Stacey Roca for finding and selecting an amazing cast for our 2012 productions.

Our 2012 tour will commence at Exeter Castle in Devon. Tickets are now on sale for the 5 dates – Wednesday 6th to Saturday 9th June 2012. [ TICKETS ]

Further venues and dates will be announced in the next few days, so please return to this site.

Historic Royal Palaces recently completed a £12 million major project to transform one of London’s most iconic landmarks, Kensington Palace. We are absolutely thrilled to be performing there from Wednesday 15th to Tuesday 21st August 2012. Our productions will take place on The Orangery Lawns. The Orangery dates back to 1704, presenting the audience with a spectacular setting and some amazing views to enjoy both before the show and during the interval.

Tickets are now on sale. [ TICKETS ]

We are delighted to be returning to Sheffield following last year’s successful shows at the Peace Gardens. This time we will be performing at the new Amphitheatre in South Street Park – a stunning theatrical location cut into the hill above Sheffield’s main railway station. It’s going to be a great event especially later in the evening with the city lights forming a spectacular backdrop. Tickets are now on sale online.

We are thrilled to be returning to Ramme Gaard in Norway. It is the most magical of places and one of Europe’s cultural gems. We highly recommend you come see our shows there between Wednesday 13th to Sunday 24th June 2012. Tickets are now on sale! [ TICKETS ]

We are thrilled to announce that the esteemed actor and director, Jack Shepherd will direct our production of The Tempest. Jack is probably best known for his role as Superintendent Wycliffe in the Police series of that name, this is currently re-running on ITV3. He has a great love of Shakespeare and has directed a number of productions both at the Royal National Theatre and The Globe. We are so pleased that Jack has decided to work with us this year directing The Tempest.

We asked Jack what it was that excited him about Shakespeare’s late play:

“The Tempest, tells the story of Prospero, an Italian nobleman, deposed by his brother and cast adrift at sea with his daughter Miranda. In time the boat drifts onto the shore of an uncharted island, where Prospero learns the art of necromancy, gaining power over the elements: Earth, air, fire and water. And when he learns that a boat carrying the men responsible for his exile, is sailing close to the island, he seizes the opportunity to exact revenge.

The play is full of magic… visions, hallucinations, spirits, gods and monsters. Our sense of everyday reality is challenged in every scene, as the events we perceive shift between the possible and the impossible, the tangible and the illusory, the actual and the imaginary; just as it does in our dreams, or in a painting by William Blake.”