Cycling theatre company HandleBards tour Macbeth to Swadlincote, Cromford, New Mills, Chesterfield

Forget the tears and tragedy – this is a frantic, delirious, full-of-beans, bike-powered farce.

The Shakespearean theatre company are packing The Scottish Play onto their cycles and taking it to outdoor venues this summer.

You can see the performance of Macbeth at Moira Furnace Museum, Swadlincote on July 23, Cromford Mills on July 25, High Lea Park, New Mills on July 27 and Monkey Park, Brampton, Chesterfield on August 24, 2021.

The HandleBards travel by bike because they care about the planet and want to promote sustainability and healthy living.

Their wooden stage with bicycle powered mechanisms travels in an electric van and the company use recycled bike parts in their props and costumes.

A cast of three actresses – Kathryn Perkins, Natalie Simone, Jenny Smith – will perform in Macbeth which the HandleBards are touring to new venues and old haunts throughout the country, from theatre to farm and from castle to park.

Macbeth director Emma Sampson said, “Working with the Handlebards is always the most fun job of my calendar year and the all-female cast has been a delight to direct. They are truly three of the funniest women I have ever met in my life.”

The HandleBards began with a sense of adventure, a love of Shakespeare and a nifty little pun eight years ago. Since four fearless friends (Callum Brodie, Callum Cheatle, Tom Dixon and Paul Moss) pedalled Twelfth Night to twenty UK venues in 2013, the company has grown to become an internationally renowned theatre company.

In 2014, the company won the Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award. The HandleBards were nominated again in 2015, and in 2016 were nominated for The Stage’s inaugural Sustainability Award.

Macbeth is suitable for viewers aged 8 years upwards. For tickets, go to www.handlebards.com/tickets

READ THIS: Hear’Say pop star Suzanne Shaw heads cast for Chesterfield panto

Support your Derbyshire Times by becoming a digital subscriber. You will see 70 per cent fewer ads on stories, meaning faster load times and an overall enhanced user experience. Visit www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/subscriptions.