'Exciting Act 2' as theatre group moves into tower

An open-air amateur theatre group has been given a new home at the 11th century former residence of Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of King Henry VIII.

Shakespeare at The George had its annual residency contract terminated by Greene King after 65-years at the George Hotel in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire.

After a successful appeal for a new home in March, the group has changed its name to "Shakespeare at the Towers", as it moves productions to Buckden Towers, formerly known as Buckden Palace, about four miles (6.5km) away.

Reuben Milne, chair of the Shakespeare at the Towers, said the move was an "exciting" start for the theatre group beginning "Act 2 . . . in a beautiful location".

The open-air Shakespeare productions at Buckden Towers will start next year with Twelfth Night, directed by Chris Aver, from 24 June to 5 July 2025.

It will take place at the 15-acre estate, which was also home to the bishops of Lincoln.

Mr Milne said it was important to find an "authentic wow venue", like the George, which was an old Jacobean coaching inn where plays would have been performed.

Patron of the group and wife of former British prime minister, Sir John Major, said it would have been "appalling to let something go that has been such a success for 65 years".

Dame Norma Major told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire: "It was a challenge to find somewhere else, and I think they have done it in record time, but the company has never been afraid of a challenge; this is just another exciting chapter.

"I think we're lucky to have found such an amazing setting locally . . . and I look forward to the new production."

The historical site, which is private property of the Claretian Missionaries and in use as a retreat and conference centre, is located in the village of Buckden.

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