Casting Has Been Annouced For LIGHTS ON LIGHTS OFF, A Project Led By Ben Crystal For Shakespeare North Playhouse 

Casting has been announced for Lights On / Lights Off Project at Shakespeare North Playhouse.

Led by actor, author and producer Ben Crystal, Lights On / Lights Off is an ambitious exploration of 'quick- raise' Shakespeare, where creatives will spend only 5 days together to produce a scene from every one of the 36 plays in Shakespeare's First Folio, working in an Elizabethan-style 'quick-raise' rehearsal process. These scenes will then be shown across 4 performances in The Cockpit Theatre as part of the celebratory programming for Shakespeare's Birthday Weekend.

The ensemble is comprised of a section of talented and diverse actors from the Liverpool City Region who have a passion for Shakespeare. The ensemble is as follows:

• Kate Benfield (she/her)

• Catherine Brabin (she/her)

• Andrew Codispoti (he/they)

• Ben Crystal (he/they)

• Christoffer Masters (he/him)

• Chloe Mcdonald (she/her)

• Louise McNulty (she/them)

• Mariana Pires (she/her)

• Liam Tobin (he/him)

Ben Crystal, is an actor, author, producer, known for his exploration of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. His first solo book, Shakespeare on Toast - Getting a Taste for the Bard was shortlisted for the 2010 Educational Writer of the Year Award. He wrote the Springboard Shakespeare quartet, and co-authored a chapter for Lockdown Shakespeare with Dr David Sterling Brown. Ben is a patron of Shakespeare Week and a consultant creative producer for Shakespeare companies around the world. Ben gives talks and workshops around the world, and his TEDx talk is called Original Practice: Shakespeare's Craft. Ben will also be leading the Lights On / Lights Off project at Shakespeare North Playhouse to be staged on Shakespeare's Birthday weekend 23 & 24 April.

On Lights On / Lights Off Ben Crystal comments;

"If anyone has ever grown up or experienced Shakespeare as being something that isn't for them, then come and see Lights On/ Lights Off. Come listen to this local group of actors speak these 400 year words as if they're their own. Hear these artists from Merseyside share something of themselves, and meanwhile, hear some Shakespeare too."

"Shakespeare was so good at holding the mirror to life and making us look at the things humans experience, whether it's love or loss, laughter or grief. But he also makes us look at the things we're less comfortable about, the things our species does and says that can make us squirm sometimes. He reminds us that humanity has got more to do and more to learn, that we've got to be more compassionate and continually work to be better, to support and love one another more kindly, because our time here is brief."

Performance dates for Lights On / Lights Off are as follows:

Sat 22 Apr @ 2:30pm

Sat 22 Apr @ 7pm

Sun 23 Apr @ 1:30pm

Sun 23 Apr @ 6pm

There will be open rehearsals between Mon 17 - Fri 21 April for pre-booked groups and tours. There will be Open Rehearsals in the Cockpit, Sat 22 (11-1pm & 4-6pm) and Sun 23 April (11-1pm & 3-5pm) with no booking required.

Tickets can be bought online, by telephone or at the shop inside Shakespeare North Playhouse

Booking Line: 0151 433 7156

Prospero Place, Prescot L34 3AB

Located in Prescot, ground-breaking new venue Shakespeare North Playhouse is home to the only 17th-century style, timber-built "Cockpit" theatre outside London, able to configured in to two formations end-on and in-the-round. Built entirely during the pandemic thanks to public funds and donations, the new venue is anticipated to attract over 140,000 visitors a year to the region. Lead architect for the project is Helm Architecture, and Austin-Smith: Lord as support architect.

Housed inside this modern, energy-efficient building, the venue is also home to a fully-accessible outdoor performance garden funded by the Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation, exhibition gallery, 60-seater studio theatre, learning centre, events spaces, and a café and bar with outdoor piazza: shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk

Ben is an actor, author, producer, and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. He is an Associate Artist with the Shakespeare North Playhouse, a patron of Shakespeare Week and a consultant creative producer for Shakespeare companies around the world.

His first solo book, Shakespeare on Toast - Getting a Taste for the Bard was shortlisted for the 2010 Educational Writer of the Year Award. He wrote the Springboard Shakespeare quartet, and co-authored a chapter for Lockdown Shakespeare with Dr David Sterling Brown.

With his father, the linguist David Crystal, he has co-authored Shakespeare's Words, The Shakespeare Miscellany and An Illustrated Dictionary of Shakespeare, which was shortlisted for the 2016 Educational Writer of the Year Award. Their website www.ShakespearesWords.com is used by actors, students, teachers, and Shakespeare lovers all over the globe. Their latest book, Everyday Shakespeare - Lines for Life is published in 2023.

Ben gives talks and workshops around the world, and his TEDx talk is called Original Practice: Shakespeare's Craft. He is the founder of the international collective www.theShakespeareEnsemble.com.

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