Iris Theatre will return to play a seventh outdoor season in London’s St Paul’s Churchyard this summer, presenting open air performances of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and family favourite Pinocchio.
The Bard’s tale of confused identities and interwoven desires opens the summer at the seasonal Covent Garden venue, playing from 24 June to 24 July.
A classic Shakespearean comedy that has been seen in recent years in a child-friendly adaptation at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, a star-laden production at the West End’s Apollo Theatre and at Shakespeare’s Globe, Twelfth Night is a tale of intrigue and love.
Its famous cast of characters features shipwrecked twins – one of whom disguises herself as a man – a lovesick Duke, a grieving Countess and the arrogant but mistreated wearer of yellow stockings, Malvolio.
While no casting has been announced for Iris’ Twelfth Night, it will be directed by Vik Sivalingam, who is currently Resident Director on Made In Dagenham.
Twelfth Night is followed from 29 July to 29 August by a new version of puppety drama Pinocchio written by Daniel Winder and Candida Caldicott, the same team who wrote previous hit adaptations of Alice In Wonderland and Alice Through The Looking Glass.
Made famous by the classic Disney film, Pinocchio tells the story of a puppet boy who hopes to become human. On his journey of discovery to prove himself, he encounters a host of fantastical characters, including a dancing fox, a sneaky snake and a ship-eating dogfish.