Shakespeare North gets the go-ahead

A 350-seat playhouse built to designs drawn in 1629 by Inigo Jones will be at the heart of a new International University College to be built in Prescot, in the North West of England.

Liverpool John Moores University has pledged, in principle, to support the project, which could lead to it developing one-year MA and postgraduate Diploma programmes there, focusing upon Shakespearean stagecraft.

The £19m project has been given the support of Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and the Chancellor pledged £5m to the development in last month’s budget. It has now been granted planning permission by Knowsley Council, which is contributing £6m to the project and providing a building that will be converted into student accommodation, as well as the land on which both the theatre and college will be built.

The Council is hoping that Shakespeare North will bring “social and economic regeneration to a community eager for and deserving of change”. It aims to establish an international reputation for the area as a place where “local people interact with tourists, theatre enthusiasts, scholars and students from throughout the world”.

An original playhouse in Prescot was the only purpose-built indoor playhouse outside London where people could enjoy Elizabethan drama.

Building work on the new venue, based on Jones’ design for a Jacobean court theatre in Whitehall, is expected to start in autumn 2016 and Shakespeare North will continue fundraising to meet the costs.

Peter Scott, Chair of Trustees, Shakespeare North Trust, said: “The creation of an historic theatre and a unique university college in Shakespeare North will commemorate the deep connection between our greatest cultural icon and an area of the country, Knowsley, that played an important role in forging his career.”