Shakespeare North Playhouse

Booked onto Theatre Explorer session for kids. Firstly I have to say that our jester (tour guide) was awesome with my nephew, engaging and very knowledgeable. We were the only ones booked on so we got a private tour which made it extra value for money. I have only rated it 3* as I was a bit disappointed with the content. This may have been due to miss understanding the event, but we were hoping to explore more areas of the theatre that you would never be able to see as a customer. Although, I appreciate not all these will exist in a Shakespeare theatre, areas such as the stage itself to see what it feels like to be on it, the prop room, costume and make-up area, how the rigging/lights work, green room etc etc. Instead, the tour was fun with activities and learning included but not so much about the theatre (the activity was in the cafe, and learning zones etc). I would love to go and see a show and really enjoyed the energy of the staff .

Fabulous placeJust enjoyed a brilliant behind the scenes tour of the jewel of PrescotThe tour guide Richard and his able assistant Jamie breathed life into the history of the venue and the magnificent wooden theatreAdd it onto your things to do - you won’t be disappointed

A fantastic place for all the family to enjoy performances, workshops, exhibitions or just to meet with friends. Fully accessible and very welcoming from friendly staff and volunteers. The 10/10A bus stops right outside or park your car at one of the many local carparks. Two bars and a café so make the day of it. Highly recommended. I am a volunteer for the Social gaming group every Thursday 2:30pm to 4:30pm. Come and see me. Chess, backgammon, dungeons & dragons, sodoku, jigsaws, plus many more!

Feel so lucky to have this little gem of a theatre on our doorstep. We have visited several times to both the indoor and outdoor theatre and I’m yet to find a production we didn’t love. The indoor Cockpit Theatre is a lovely intimate setting with bench seats, not all of them have backs so it’s worth checking what is best for you before you book. Wherever you’re sat there is a good view and you feel part of the action. I really like that all productions have age guidance on so you know which are the most family friendly. Whenever we have visited we have found the staff very helpful and the cafe is fairly reasonable for a theatre. Never disappointed when we go.

A lovely intimate theatre, beautifully designed and finished, set within a modern building.Drawbacks: cafe very limited and food nicely presented but poor quality.Loved the cobbles but our taxi was unable to pick us up by the exit door as it is buses only. Step climbing was involved to reach the taxi and then he had to reverse out from a narrow dead end street on to a main road.

The outside of this theatre, the cafe and little gift shop are super modern but then stepping into the main (cockpit) theatre you're transported back to Shakespeare's Globe theatre with compact wooden stalls and benches around a central stage. The staff were welcoming and knowledgeable and always on hand. Special mention to one volunteer (sorry I didnt get the name) who was showing people to their seats and was friendly and chatty with everyone.The play I saw was The Book of Will and it was brilliant, funny, sad - highly recommend seeing it. The acting and use of space was amazing. I was sat next to the 'bar' and each time one of the actors went to that space I felt I was part of the show!The only downside for me was the uncomfortable seating. In keeping with the traditional design the seats are mostly narrow benches without backs. They are cushioned but after an hour or so they did start to feel hard. Thankfully I was on the back row of the pit and had a low wall behind me to occasionally lean back on but my back was hurting a lot after the first hour. During the interval I went and got a brew, just to move around, but it was killer going back to sit for another hour. I saw some seats on the back row of the lower gallery with high backs but these didnt look much better given the very straight back and I saw people had moved from these after the interval to sit elsewhere.The other thing about the seats being benches you have to be comfortable being so close to the people either side of you, I saw people having to squeeze on in some areas. I think when the benches were numbered they underestimated how much space some people will take up, not only with some larger adults, but bags, coats etc plus not much leg room either so I saw people trying to sit with their legs sideways. Not ideal for a couple of hours.Saying that I would book to see something here again but I would be very picky about the seats, definitely the end of a row for more leg room and definitely with a back or a wall behind.

We attended a live recording, and hadn't been to the playhouse before. It's a fabulous theatre, the cockpit theatre is made from 87 purpose grown oak trees and is all peg and dowel construction so no nails or screws. It's a beautiful theatre, and the staff were wonderful guiding us where we needed to be.The show was amazing, and we're looking forward to going back.

We have been to two shows this weekend and absolutely loved every minute.The staff at the Playhouse are so friendly and catered to our every need. While I was waiting for hot chocolates, a gentleman said I could sit down and he would bring them over. I declined but appreciated the offer.Another kindness to be mentioned is in the ladies toilets, there are sanitary items free of charge. Period poverty is a huge issue and it was very wholesome to see that visitors to the Playhouse will not have any embarrassing moments.I really love this theatre and recommend that everybody pay it a visit.

Just been to Shakespeare North to see Wind in the Willows. It is superb, entertaining, immersive and joyful. Loved every minute of it. Will happily see it again. We also had tea there from the bar. Very tasty, freshly prepared food. It certainly is a beautiful venue.

Fabulous building with a nice café downstairs and a small bar on the first floor next to the entrance to the cockpit theatre. The theatre is gorgeous. A very intimate space fully in the round with about 8 rows of bench seats( a couple of rows have backs to them) highly recommend and will be going back soon.