MID-SUMMER will be celebrated in style tomorrow by the Royal Shakespeare Company when they stage A Mid-Summer Sundae, a fun packed day for all the family.

There will be a host of free activities in Stratford-upon-Avon including performances, live music, theatre workshops and skills demonstrations, and they will be free for all ages with need to book – you can simply drop in and enjoy.

Highlights include stage fighting workshops, a special Shakespeare drumming performance using full-size djembe drums, and the chance to ask an RSC actor to perform a sonnet for you or a friend.

Part of Midsummer Mischief, a festival of new plays at The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre running through to July 12, the day (Sunday, June 22) will also be an opportunity to explore an exhibition about Buzz Goodbody, the founding director of The Other Place.

So take a look and make your choice...

DROP IN ACTIVITIES -

Free for all ages, just drop in no need to book, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Unless otherwise indicated all activities will take place in the Avonbank Gardens opposite The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre.

The Enchanted Forest (11.30am – 4.30pm) - Come and experience the magic of The Enchanted Forest for a dazzling encounter! A feast for all the senses, listen to the sounds of the forest, hear A Midsummer Night’s Dream characters chatting in the distance, run your hands through the plants growing in the forest, and see if you can spot the fairies flying between the trees.

But the Enchanted Forest isn’t just a place to escape to…your help will be needed to complete it!

Artists Megan Clark Bagnall and Jasmine Loveys will be on hand to help you make your own leaves and foliage, create your very own mystical creatures, and make the forest your own. Let your imagination run wild…anything could happen in the Enchanted Forest…

Screen Printing Workshops (11.30am – 1.30pm and 2.30 – 4.30pm) - Join artist Karoline Rerrie from Girls Who Draw to create your own screen prints. To celebrate our family exhibition, Who Wears The Trousers? (currently on display in the Ferguson Room, Swan Theatre) Karoline will be on hand to help create your own characters and fun prints.

Sonnets For You (1.30 – 3.30pm) - Watch a short performance on The Dell stage as we introduce our menu of RSC actors and sonnets. Choose a sonnet, and an actor will then be on hand to give you, a chosen friend or partner, a personalised individual rendition of heartbreak, love or strife!

The Original Spinners (12 – 5pm) - Look out for the Original Spinners as they combine clowning, dance, music, puppetry and storytelling to create honest, simple and magical experiences throughout the day. Listen out for their ever-changing soundtrack for chances to get involved and participate in their Land of Play.

THE DELL STAGE -

Join members of the RSC on The Dell main stage for live music, performances of Shakespeare and practical theatre demonstrations.

The Tripp Ensemble (11.30am-12.15pm and 3-3.45pm) - The Tripp Ensemble was founded by Tobie Tripp, a Cardiff-based musician who uses a cross-pollination of musical styles to create unique, unforgettable pieces. The Tripp Ensemble’s aim is to combine genres of music across the board that wouldn’t be expected in a single performance.

The Old Dance School (12.30-1.15pm and 4.15-5pm) - The Old Dance School's expansive landscapes of ear-bending contemporary folk place them as true innovators of the genre. Duelling fiddles, soaring brass crescendos, and irresistible grooves, their live show charts their remarkable journey from ballet school basement jam sessions and cowshed rehearsals, to remote lighthouses, to headline appearances at international festivals.

London Youth Gospel Choir (LYGC) (1.45-2.45pm) - Having worked with participants in just a 2 hour workshop the day before, LYGC presents Shakespeare text through the uplifting energy of singing gospel music. London Youth Gospel Choir was set up to enable people who enjoy singing to meet others whilst developing their music and vocal skills. The choir sings uplifting material including Gospel, pop/funk/soul and African traditional.

Shakespeare Rhythms Drumming Performance (1.30-1.45pm) - Listen to a performance fusing the words and sounds of Shakespeare with traditional full size djembe drums. Anyone who wants to be part of the performance should take part in the workshop between 11.30am-1pm in The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre (details below).

Stage Fighting Demonstration (4-4.15pm) - Join Stage Fighting director Tom Jordan as he demonstrates how to pull a punch.

Shakespeare Bingo! (12.15 – 12.30pm, 2.45-3pm, 3.45-4pm) Get your dabbers at the ready for our special Shakespeare themed bingo calls! Play a quick game between performances with prizes for a full house.

THE WRITERS’ HUT - 

Discover the RSC’s writers’ hut for inspiration and workshops about creating your own new writing. Visit and find books on writing and theatre that have inspired the writers from the RSC’s Midsummer Mischief season.

Helen Mort: Smell/Taste (12-1pm, 2-3pm, 4-5pm) - Join former Foyle Young Poet Helen Mort in our comfy writers’ hut as she asks how we can give surprising objects or things a ‘voice’ in poetry. In partnership with Cape Farwell.

WORKSHOPS AT THE OTHER PLACE AT THE COURTYARD THEATRE -

All workshops are free and can be booked in advance via our website. A small number of tickets will be held for booking on the day.

Shakespeare Rhythms (11.30am – 1pm) - MSD Rehearsal Room, The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre. Suitable for ages 8+ - no previous experience required. Learn how to create African rhythms on traditional full size djembe drums with local company, In2Culture. They will bring together the words and sounds of Shakespeare with RSC voice coach Nia Lynn with this fun and beginners introduction to drumming. The group will then be able to take their newly learnt skills to the Dell main stage for a performance at 1.30pm.

Stage Fighting (2.30-4pm) - MSD Rehearsal Room, The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre. Suitable for adults and young people aged 11+. Learn how to pull a punch in this active workshop and demonstration of stage fighting techniques.

Food and Drink (Available from 11.30am – 5pm) - Take a seat in a chill out marquee with a drink and ice cream sundae alongside open mic entertainment. Local performers are being called upon to come and perform music, spoken word and comedy in 20 minute sets. For information on how to get involved, e-mail midsummersundae@rsc.org.uk.

BUZZ GOODBODY EXHIBITION - (throughout the day) in the foyer area of The Other Place at The Courtyard Theatre. This will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the opening of The Other Place and this exhibition explores Buzz Goodbody’s radical work, her theatre manifesto and the reasoning behind creating a theatre in a small tin shed in 1974.