York Shakespeare Project - Cymbeline

The York Shakespeare Project is only four plays away from achieving its twenty-year goal of producing all of William Shakespeare’s plays in York. Will you help us get across the finish line?

Throughout its history, the York Shakespeare Project (YSP) has thrived thanks to the community’s support. The registered charity is funded by memberships from the show’s participants and supporters, regular fundraisers in partnership with St. Crux Church, tickets from the public, and other bespoke fundraising events. In order to present the highest quality productions possible, each show relies on actors and crew to volunteer their time. It is truly a labour of love!

All these fundraising streams barely offset the cost of venue hire, rehearsal space, costumes, sound, lights, and sundry other costs for each production. The project’s coffers have slowly emptied over the years, due in part to the recent unavailability of St. Crux Church, as well as ever-increasing expenses. That’s why we’re doing our first-ever crowdfunding campaign to help us top-up our funds. Our goal is to not only produce a truly unique production of Cymbeline, but also set us up to succeed with the other three remaining plays to bring the two-decade project to completion.

We are thrilled to be presenting Shakespeare’s rarely performed masterpiece, Cymbeline, this March at one of York’s most gorgeous buildings, the medieval Merchant Taylors’ Hall. For the first time in its history, the YSP will present a production in period costumes, complimented by baroque instruments and madrigals sung by our talented community cast. In Shakespeare’s time, London theatre companies toured to York and performed at guild halls, so this presents a unique exploration of what such a show might have been like. The show will be in the capable hands of New York director Ben Prusiner, who has previously presented two very successful productions for the YSP: Henry VIII and King Lear.

Combined with other fundraising and careful budgeting, we only need to raise £1500. Here are some of the ways that your donation will make a difference:

£5 – Pays for tea and coffee for our volunteer cast and crew for a week!

£15 – The ‘absentee ticket’, a perfect donation for those who can’t come see the show in person!

£30 – Hires a costume item for the gorgeous Renaissance clothing

£100 – Covers the cost for an entire character’s costume construction and hire

£200 – Pays for the furniture and bespoke props to fill our historic venue

£500 – Offsets the hire of the truly unique Merchant Taylors’ Hall, one of York’s most stunning and best preserved medieval guild halls

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Thank you for all your support, and we hope to see you at the production 1-3 March. Tickets are available from the box office at York Theatre Royal at www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk/event/cymbeline.php. And please spread the word – it takes a crowd to raise the funds! See you at the show!