written by Charlotte Groombridge The cast list of Macbeth in both English and Armenian - an example of what we're dealing with! Macbeth arguably contains some of Shakespeare’s most famous lines and speeches. For who among us doesn’t own an “Out, damned spot!” or “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” fridge magnet? If you don’t, please consider buying one at this summer’s performances… However, most of the time the only real considerations when using Shakespeare’s works is exa

by Charlotte Groombridge One week already spent in wonderful Armenia (time really does fly when you’re three hours ahead!), and with just under a month to go until the preview of Macbeth (don’t we just love  a tight deadline…) and our flight home (booo!) we thought we would share some of our thoughts and reflections on not only staging Shakespeare outside of CSF, but also in a language completely alien to us.  Firstly, we are endlessly grateful to the Yerevan Chamber Theatre

The cast in rehearsals written by Charlotte Groombridge In the 11 year tenure of the Canterbury Shakespeare Festival, this is the first time we have staged one of Shakespeare’s earliest works. But why the wait? Certainly, Titus Andronicus has a gory reputation which can be off-putting to directors and audiences alike. In the same breath, it can also be argued that this reputation cultivates its own community of fervent fans. And even the more fair weather attendees of Sh

written by Elliot Huxtable You’ll have heard the phrasing before - the stage is set, the cast is ready… But what does this mean?  The...

written by Charlotte Groombridge The first thing you often hear when talking about works of the great Russian writers is this: “I tried...

by Elliot Huxtable A question that’s been asked of me a lot recently is “you’re a Shakespeare Festival, why are you doing Chekhov?” I...

by Charlotte Groombridge It all started many years ago in the distant world of 2022. After several hours of wrapping presents, fighting...

by Elliot D Huxtable Our final day in Armenia was a whirlwind tour of some of the most beautiful and historical parts of rural Armenia on...

by Charlotte Groombridge The CSF Winter Comedy might feel like an annual tradition, but it took four years before we staged our very...

by Elliot D Huxtable We finished our last blog with our own talk at the Armenian Shakespeare Conference. This next blog continues with...

by Elliot D Huxtable So we get to Saturday in Armenia. The Big Day. The day during which Charlotte and I are due to present our panel...

written by Charlotte Groombridge If you read the title of this piece and your first thought was “Wasn’t it Shakespeare?”, then...

written by Elliot D Huxtable After an excellent night’s sleep at the Diamond Hotel (free slippers every day!) and an excessively detailed...

written by Elliot D Huxtable As you might have read from our (many) social media posts and stories (thank you Charlotte), we were...