Robin Hood and Shakespeare on tour across Sussex

They play the Shakespeare at Brighton Open Air Theatre on Thursday, August 31 at 7pm and again on Friday, September 1, also at 7pm. Much Ado About Nothing is also at the Hawth Theatre, Crawley on Tuesday, September 12 at 7pm. Robin Hood also comes to Crawley for a date at The Walled Garden, Tilgate Park on Monday, August 28 at 3pm.

Ethan Taylor, associate artistic director of the company, said: “We always try to look for two shows that complement each other. We like to put out on the road one show that is more family friendly which this year is Robin Hood which is everyone's favourite folk tale, and we also like to do a Shakespeare. We think that this one will go really well. We have given it a nice contemporary twist while remaining faithful to the text.

“The Shakespeare is a show where they come back from the wars and in our production they come back from a fictional non-specific contemporary conflict. We decided to set it as an unspecified war but to make it modern in that sense. And we've also really played up the farcical elements. It is one of Shakespeare’s more highbrow comedies perhaps but we really do think that the silliness is there and we bring it out. And we have condensed it down to an hour and a half which is our company model. Sadly quite a bit has been left on the cutting room floor! But it's the way we work. We're playing outdoors and we're having to contend with the British summer. We've had a couple of wash-outs so far.”

But not wash-outs in the sense that the play was abandoned. No, the company simply kept going and felt the audience warmed to them for doing so: “We just carry on with the show no matter how bleak the weather unless we can see it's actually dangerous, and we're lucky that we have some lovely stoic audiences. We were in Salisbury the other day and the first half was beautiful weather and then in the second-half it just literally came pouring down but you just heard people zipping up their jackets and everyone had a lovely time despite the weather.

“We are always looking to do family friendly accessible plays and Much Ado is certainly that. And we also felt that it was ideal for our summer setting. It's set in Italy so probably they have got better than we do but it's also one that we've never done before and one I have always wanted to do. It's a personal favourite of mine. I've always loved it. And we felt it complemented Robin Hood very well.

“Robin Hood we have adapted from the original story. There are lots of sword fights and there's lots of running around and out of breath actors. It is the story of Robin and how he meets Marion and defeats the evil Sir Guy of Gisbourne. And the message is a lovely one about taking from the rich and giving to the poor but basically it's a lot of running around, silliness and swordfights!”

Tickets from the venues.