Earlier this year in February, The HandleBards tour to India included 12 sold out performances of the plays 'Hamlet' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' over a month and was very well received at all the venues they performed at - Jagriti, Ranga Shankara and The Humming Tree! They're back in the country with a brand new production ; 'Much Ado About Nothing'.

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ABOUT THE PLAY : MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

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A group of soldiers, including Benedick, Claudio, Don Pedro and Don John, return from a war to stay at the house of Leonato, a respected nobleman. On their arrival, Claudio quickly falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero, and the two of them decide to get married. At the same time, a long-running war of words between Benedick and Beatrice (Leonato’s niece) starts up again.

In the run up to the wedding, the lovers decide to make Benedick and Beatrice fall in love too, by playing a series of tricks on them. This works, and Benedick and Beatrice secretly fall on love with each other.

Don John concocts a plan to make it seem that Hero has cheated on Claudio before the wedding. On the day of the wedding, Claudio humiliates Hero in front of the congregation and leaves her at the altar. The family decide to pretend that Hero has died of grief, and in this melee Benedick and Beatrice confess their love for each other.

The local watch, headed by Dogberry and Verges, discover Don John’s plot and reveal Hero’s innocence. Leonato requests Claudio to grieve at Hero’s grave, and then marry Hero’s cousin – who looks remarkably like Hero. At their marriage, Hero reveals her true identity, and Benedick asks Beatrice to marry him. All are happily married.

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ABOUT The HandleBards

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They are four-strong troupes of cycling actors from London, England who carry on their bicycles all of the necessary set, props and costume to perform extremely energetic, charmingly chaotic and environmentally sustainable Shakespeare plays across the globe. They specialise in outdoor theatre, but have had plenty of indoor shows as well.

Touring since 2013, the HandleBards are at the forefront of environmentally sustainable theatre, having won the 2014 Sustainable Practice Award at the Edinburgh Fringe. They have clocked-up over 5000 miles by cycling around the world to perform Shakespeare. Sir Ian McKellen has described them as ‘uproariously funny. Over the past three years they have performed to over 15,000 audience members in over 100 different venues, and are commended by critics and audiences alike for their highly visual and very accessible style of Shakespeare.

They are currently touring the UK with all-male productions of Richard III and Much Ado About Nothing, and all-female productions of Romeo And Juliet and The Taming Of The Shrew.