Today’s guest is Claire Will, the Director of Marketing and Commercial at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot.
The Playhouse itself has been open to the public since July 2022 – and it aims to bring people together to participate through a programme of new performances, theatre, music, comedy, workshops, events and activities – across a number of different spaces including the Sir Ken Dodd performance garden, an exhibition gallery and on site studio.
At the centre of the building is a traditional 470 seat, timber framed Shakespearean theatre, called the ‘cockpit’. It’s an incredible space that is based on Inigo Jones’s cockpit-in-court design that was originally located in 17th-century London.
It’s constructed using 60 tons of English oak – and there are no nails or obvious modern techniques used in its construction – instead, everything is held together using dowels and traditional carpentry methods. It’s a stunning space and I’d highly recommend a visit to a performance so you soak up the atmosphere in this unique space.
In our conversation we hear about Claire’s work at Marketing at Sheffield Theatres, Sheffield Museums, Contact theatre and the Royal Exchange in Manchester.
This episode was recorded on site at Shakespeare North Playhouse in April 2023.
I loved visiting Prescot to see the Shakespeare North Playhouse and would like to thank Claire for showing me around and sharing her story.
I hope her passion and enthusiasm for the project comes across in the interview!
As always, I’ve put links to things we discussed into the notes below, so you can easily look things up, if you want a bit more detail.
Links
Shakespeare North Playhouse: https://shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk/
Arts and Cultural Management – Sheffield University https://www.shu.ac.uk/courses/media-pr-and-journalism/ma-arts-and-cultural-management/full-time
Sheffield Theatres: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/
Sheffield Winter Gardens: https://www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/content/attractions/sheffield-winter-garden/
Sheffield Museums: https://www.sheffieldmuseums.org.uk/
Weston Park Museum: https://www.sheffieldmuseums.org.uk/visit-us/weston-park-museum/
Myers Briggs Personality Types: https://www.welcometosheffield.co.uk/content/attractions/sheffield-winter-garden/
Factory International: https://factoryinternational.org/
Contact Theatre Manchester: https://contactmcr.com/
Royal Exchange, Manchester: https://www.royalexchange.co.uk/
Cultural Peeps 