Castle to be or not to be venue

Eager theatre lovers have been snapping up tickets for next summer's Stafford Castle Shakespeare spectacular - more than 10 months before curtain up.

Tickets for the open-air production of Hamlet went on sale on Monday and 1,761 - 12 per cent of the toal available - were sold on the first day.

Producer Derrick Gask said he was thrilled with the early take-up of tickets.

He said: "I am delighted with the response we have had from our audiences and I hope that sales continue to do as well, as we begin the preparations for next year's show."

"Early birds" who buy tickets for the production on or before December 31 receive a £1 discount off every ticket.

Derrick said: "The 'Early Bird' savings allow us to rewarding our loyal customers who return each year.

"There is an extremely large proportion of our audience that enjoys the Shakespeare Festival annually, and this offer encourages them to book early and secure their favourite seats. Looking at sales this has certainly had the desired effect, as we have sold and reserved over 400 more tickets than on the opening day of sales for this year's open-air production of Much Ado About Nothing."

Hamlet is being performed at the castle from June 26 to July 12 next year. It will be the second time it has been staged at the venue, following a production of the popular Shakespearean tragedy in 1994.

Derrick said: "After opting for comedies for the last couple of years, we decided that this year's Stafford Festival Shakespeare production should be a tragedy."

He added that Much Ado About Nothing was the third highest selling Stafford Castle Shakespeare production.