Plans to build a £19m Jacobean theatre in Merseyside have been given the go-ahead. Organisers hope it will join Stratford-upon-Avon and the Globe in London as one of three key destinations for Shakespeare lovers.
Shakespeare North, a 350-seat replica Shakespearean theatre and education hub in Knowsley, was awarded planning permission on Thursday night after councillors voted unanimously in favour.
Prescot in Knowsley is thought to have been the only English town outside of London to have had a freestanding, purpose-built indoor playhouse in the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, and Shakespeare is thought to have belonged to a troupe of actors who performed there.
Following an announcement by Knowsley council of £6m of funding for the project, George Osborne pledged a further £5m in March’s budget. Shakespeare North Trust will continue fundraising, and building work is expected to commence in the autumn.
The former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney and actors Dame Helen Mirren and Vanessa Redgrave are among the project’s patrons.
The theatre will be built to designs drawn in 1629 by the architect and theatre designer Inigo Jones. Jones designed the Cockpit at Whitehall for the court of King James I.
Shakespeare is believed to have been a member of the theatre company Strange’s Men, which had the patronage of Lord Strange, the 4th Earl of Derby’s eldest son. The town of Prescot borders Knowsley Hall and estate, which was one of the main residences of the earls of Derby.
The Shakespeare North Trust said it hoped the project would bring social and economic regeneration to an area that was “eager for and deserving of change”. It said the new theatre would complete a Shakespeare triangle of Stratford, London and the north-west.
The trust is in discussions with Liverpool John Moores University to help develop a one-year postgraduate programme focusing on Shakespearean stagecraft and based at the planned playhouse.
Peter Scott, the chair of trustees, said the creation of the theatre and postgraduate programme would 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”.
“Shakespeare North aims to make Knowsley once again a place where actors, writers, students and young people will be able to study and practise the plays of Shakespeare,” he said.
A spokesperson for Knowsley council said the project was expected to contribute £10m to the local economy, and create 210 construction jobs as well as 57 full-time jobs once the theatre opens.
