No Leeds Shakespeare Festival This Year
July 23rd, 2008 § 6 Comments
The British Shakespeare Company website has been on my favourite’s list for months as I waited for tickets to be released for the Leeds Shakespeare Festival. I went in 2006 to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Wayne Sleep, Mina Anwar and Sean Brosnan – it was fantastic – a beautiful setting, lovely evening and playful performance.
This year I wanted to take my boyfriend to see it so I kept checking back for tickets. It seems however there’s been a problem with Leeds City Council refusing funding. They also cite ‘health and safety’ and ‘security’ concerns as further reasons why the performance can’t go ahead…because 13 successful years aren’t enough proof it’s a good idea.
I think Leeds City Council have made a weak decision – they’ve stopped a performance that hundreds of people enjoy rather than reaching into their pockets. To blame ‘health and safety’ is simply ridiculous.
You can find the Shakespeare Company’s own update here.