The HandleBards: Much Ado About Nothing

Pedalling from venue to venue with all of their set, props and costumes on the back of their bikes, the HandleBards are a four-strong troupe of actors who are spending the summer bringing environmentally sustainable Shakespeare to venues across the UK.

Join the troupe at Norwich Theatre Playhouse for a bicycle-powered production of Shakespeare’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ like you’ve never seen before. In usual HandleBards style, expect riotous amounts of energy, a fair old whack of chaos, and a great deal of laughter. And what’s the play about?

Well – a group of soldiers return from the war to a household in Messina, kindling new love interests and re-kindling old rivalries. The parallel love stories of Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio and Hero quickly become entangled with scheming, frivolity and melodrama in Shakespeare’s famous comedy.

Extant in partnership with Norwich Theatre – presents Enhance.

Visually impaired access has been created for this show post-production, devised by an Extant visually impaired facilitator. This is not audio description, but instead an ‘enhanced’ way of providing access that has been tried and tested by Extant.

We invite visually impaired audiences to come along and experience the programme notes and touch tour before the show beginning at 6:30 pm. The notes encapsulate the visual aspects of the show and are written with access for visually impaired audiences at the core. The Touch Tour offers exploration of set, props and costume: offering an immersive space in which to imagine the work before the show begins.

‘Very descriptive and it allowed me to create a visual picture in my head.’

Extant Enhance 2023-26 is funded by Paul Hamlyn Foundation and Arts Council England.