Deal is a small, picturesque town on the East Kent Coast which thrived historically through fishing, mining and as a garrison town. It provided a natural harbour for shipping in the days of sailing ships and was once the busiest port in England. In 1987 the Director Luke Dixon and Designer Paul Dart arrived in…

Shakespeare’s most popular play was the obvious and perfect choice for a large-scale community production. There was an open call for anyone in the town who wanted to take part, whether on stage, backstage of front of house. No one would be turned away. There were recruitment evenings at the Astor Theatre, notices in the…

The success of The Dream created an enthusiasm for a second production the following year. From the Shakespeare’s best-known play, the team moved on to his least known. Pericles is a story of the sea. The production was imbued with the same ethos and philosophy that had made The Dream such a success. The entire…

Having enjoyed working at one castle, the Project moved to another for the production of Romeo and Juliet. Walmer Castle offered opportunities very different from the confines of Deal. The extensive grounds allowed spectacular processions, movement across wide vistas, and a playful approach to period reconstruction. This was the first of the productions to employ…

So successful was the residency at Walmer Castle, that the Project returned for a production of The Winter’s Tale. The play has two very different settings – Sicily and Bohemia. The walled garden of the castle was used for the Sicilian court and the audience were then taken on journey to the wilder edges of…

The summer of The Winter’s Tale was the year of the 90th birthday of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Lord Warden of The Cinque Ports. As Lord Warden, Walmer Castle was one of her residences. The Project decided to celebrate her birthday and thank her for her kindness in opening up the castle…

After four years of Shakespeare, it was time for a change. So, in 1991 there were two very different yet complementary productions: At Deal Castle, a play by Shakespeare’s contemporary Christopher Marlowe was staged: Doctor Faustus.  And on Deal Pier, which had hosted the last night of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a novel processional reimagining…

The last year of the Project saw another brace of productions. One was an intimate staging of Waiting for Godot created in Deal library but spilling out for one evening onto the beach where Pericles had arrived three years before. The other was entirely on the beach – a reworking of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar as…