Shakespeare and His Sisters on Site investigates site-specific performances of plays by Shakespeare and by women dramatists of the sixteenth and seventeenth century.

It explores how non-commercial theatre spaces such as great households and historic buildings like Lancaster Castle reveal unique theatrical dimensions of plays by Shakespeare and those of his female contemporaries.

Virginia Woolf famously declared that ‘no sister of Shakespeare’ would have been able to write drama for the professional stage. We do have scripts by women of this time though. Testing how they worked on non-commercial stages creates an important alternative theatrical tradition of women’s drama that predates Aphra Behn and the professional actress on the Restoration stage. Shakespeare’s plays were also performed in non-commercial venues across the country. Our practical explorations suggest how Shakespeare’s plays might have worked for specific patrons at court and beyond the Globe.

Visit ‘News & Events‘ to see upcoming events, learn more about who we are and our approach in the ‘About‘ section of the website, and view recordings of some of our recent productions below.

Note: This site is currently undergoing a re-design, so there may be missing images and pages that are under construction. Thank you for your patience.

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Recent Productions

Henry V, performed and filmed in the Shire Hall, Lancaster, 2024

Edward III, performed and filmed at Lancaster Castle in 2023

Love’s Victory, performed and filmed at Penshurst Place, 2022