Stamford Shakespeare Company

Stamford Shakespeare Company,[1] a registered charity,[2] is an amateur theatre company presenting an annual season of plays in June, July and August at the Rutland Open Air Theatre[3][4] in the grounds of Tolethorpe Hall,[5] Rutland.

The amateur Stamford Shakespeare Company was founded in 1968 by the late Jean Harley, then Artistic Director, with a performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Monastery Garden of the historic George Hotel in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

Tolethorpe Hall came on the market in a near derelict state early in 1977 and was acquired by the Stamford Shakespeare Company with a private loan later repaid.

[6][page needed][7] The main interest in the grounds was a natural amphitheatre which was converted into a concrete-stepped 600-seat auditorium covered by a canvas canopy.

The raked auditorium looks outward across the lower terrace which forms the stage behind which, is the open country of the Gwash valley.