
The Aigantighe sculpture garden is set to be transformed into the old Italian city of Messina as Timaru’s annual Summer Shakespeare returns.
This year Aidan Theatre will be staging their adaptation of the beloved Shakespearean comedy Much Ado About Nothing.
The story focuses on the courtship and scandal of Hero and her suitor Claudio and the do they, don’t they, will they, won’t they turbulent relationship of Benedick and Beatrice.
Director Kimble Henderson said the play was chosen by popular choice.
‘‘It won the vote but frankly I really like it because it’s funny, there is great wordplay and the characters reflect a whole bunch of people in society that we know in some way or another.
‘‘It’s fun, mysterious and it’s a good time.’’
She said there would be a few new additions to this year’s performance.
‘‘We’ve listened to previous audiences and we have James from JMW Events coming along to assist us with the technical side and get head mics on the cast, which will be a good test at the Aigantighe.
‘‘We love to have the chance to support him because way back in the day he was one of the local guys with Theatre Machine.
‘‘We also have two out-of-town professional actors joining us, Jake McKay and Andrew Brinsley-Pirie, as well as some brand-new actors to Summer Shakespeare.’’

Joining the cast for the first time are father and son duo Steven and Ben Compton.
Mr Compton said he was very much looking forward to taking to the stage with his son.
‘‘This was a play that I studied at school, it was my favourite Shakespeare play and Ben is actually named after the lead character.
‘‘This is only my second play after Blackadder, which was one of my favourite TV shows, so for my favourite Shakespeare play to come along too has been brilliant.’’
Andrew Brinsley-Prie, who plays Benedick, said it was a interesting challenge to play a romantic hero who hates romance.
‘‘It’s a fun thing to play around with and figure out how to pull out all the interesting parts of Benedick when he tries to rail against all the things that type of character would want and go in for.
‘‘He’s kind of fighting against it through a lot of the show, which is quite fun.’’

Beatrice actor, Prea Millar, said the show was a great reflection of current times.
‘‘It’s fun, it’s silly, it’s goofy, it’s light-hearted, it’s great for current times when everything’s a bit grey but it’s also got some really hard topics, and some quite intense themes.
‘‘I think that make the stakes higher, and make it an even more important story to tell.
‘‘I know that I’ve found with Beatrice, she’s got this whole spiel about what it’s like just existing as a woman, and that hits home fairly well.’’
Despite the success of previous Summer Shakespeares, Mrs Henderson said it was becoming harder to keep the event running.
‘‘Funding is a big challenge, I think things have changed for how we do theatre here now, and things have got expensive for everybody.
‘‘We want to keep it free, we do ask for a koha as much as possible, and that’s becoming harder and harder as prices go up and expectations go up.’’

She said it was important to make entertainment affordable and accessible.
‘‘The koha payment is so these families out there who want to come together and do something together can.. We’re relying a lot on people’s generosity.’’
Tickets will now need to be booked — they can be purchased on the humantix website for a koha of the purchaser’s choosing but door sales will also be available.
The eight performances will be from February 14-16 and from February 21-23.