May 29, 2013 2.09 pm This story is over 129 months old

Lincoln theatre company goes on 14th UK tour

On tour: Chapterhouse Theatre Company will open the season with Pride & Prejudice at Bolingbroke Castle, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s most popular novel.

Lincoln-based Chapterhouse Theatre Company is about to embark on its fourteenth year of touring the UK and Ireland with open-air performances of classical adaptations.

Chapterhouse will be touring over one hundred different venues across the UK and Ireland with six adaptations of well-known classics; A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles, Twelfth Night and The Wind in the Willows.

This year, it will be opening the season with a special performance of Pride & Prejudice at Bolingbroke Castle, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s most popular novel.

Script writer Laura Turner said she felt honoured to be a part in the 200th anniversary of the story: “It was a huge privilege to script my own version of this classic love story and I feel even more privileged to have it touring this year.”

Laura is a Lincoln-based writer who’s worked as a playwright for Chapterhouse since graduating from the University of York in 2009. She is excited to be kicking off the tour in her home county.

“I was not lucky enough to study Pride & Prejudice at school or university, but have read the novel several times, so I was thrilled to be asked to write an adaptation of it for the stage.

“I have tried to represent the original text as faithfully as possible and I hope anyone who goes to see it enjoys spending an evening with Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet.”

Samantha Hopkins played Elizabeth Bennet in last year’s production of the show. This year, she rejoined Chapterhouse as a member of their Shakespeare cast, and used the opportunity to play her cross-dressing role in Twelfth Night to get her hair cut off and also do her bit for charity.

She said: “I had a wonderful time touring with Chapterhouse last year. I had the opportunity to play one of English literature’s most famous heroines, Lizzie Bennet.

“I grew really fond of Lincoln and it’s lovely to be back. It feels like home now!”

Samantha Hopkins, who features in this year's Twelfth Night cast, cut off her hair for charity.

Samantha Hopkins, who features in this year’s Twelfth Night cast, cut off her hair for charity.

She added: “Viola spends the majority of the play disguised as a boy and this will be a bit of a challenge for me, because I’m quite a girly girl in real life, but I can’t wait!

“A friend of my family was recently diagnosed with cancer and she had to cut her hair. She donated it to the Little Princess Trust, who make wigs for children with cancer and when I realised that I would be cutting enough off the length of my hair, I thought I’d like to do the same.”

You can catch Chapterhouse Theatre Company’s range of Lincolnshire performances at various venues:

  • Pride & Prejudice: June 13 at Bolingbroke Castle, Bolingbroke
  • Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles: July 21 at The Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa
  • The Wind in the Willows: July 28 at Elsham Hall, Brigg
  • Pride & Prejudice: July 4 at Gainsborough Trinity Theatre, Gainsborough
  • Pride & Prejudice: August 18 at Elsham Hall, Brigg
  • Twelfth Night: August 25 at The Petwood Hotel, Woodhall Spa
  • Pride & Prejudice: August 30 at Belton House, near Grantham

For more information on any of the performances listed on Chapterhouse’s 2013 summer tour visit the Chapterhouse website.