Something bike-powered this way comes…

Last year The HandleBards, who pedal environmentally sustainable Shakespeare up and down the land, gave York Theatre Royal audiences their version of Romeo & Juliet. Now the cycling troupe return to open the Spring! Season with their all-female version of Macbeth on 25 and 26 January.

In case you’re worried that The Scottish Play will be all gloom and doom, be aware that The HandleBards promise it will be a frantic, delirious, full-of-beans farce with an all-female cast of Kathryn Perkins, Natalie Simone and Jenny Smith.

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. Since four fearless friends (Callum Brodie, Callum Cheatle, Tom Dixon and Paul Miss) pedalled Twelfth Night to 20 UK venues in 2013, the company has grown to become an internationally renowned theatre company, bringing a uniquely irreverent brand of Shakespeare to audiences all over the globe.

The HandleBards travel by bike because they care about the planet and want to promote sustainability and healthy living. In 2014 they won the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Sustainable Practice Award. They were nominated again in 2015, and in 2016 were nominated for The Stage’s inaugural Sustainability Award.

Director Emma Sampson.

Cast: Kathryn Perkins, Natalie Simone, Jenny Smith

Produced by Tom Dixon and Paul Moss. Designed by Lucy Green.

Musical direction by Guy Hughes. Assistant direction Olivia Race.

Stage design by Mark Parsons (Studio Polpo).