East London Shakespeare Festival

2024 Summer Tour

Much Ado About Nothing

Ursula Early as Beatruce wearing a sunhat hiding in grass

Urusla Early as Beatrice

7 June 2024 - 20 August 2024

Welcome To Messina

Bringing a bit of the Mediterranean to East London Audiences

In an attempt to mend a broken heart, Beatrice has escaped to visit her family in the stunning Mediterranean idyll of Messina, only to run into her self-centred ex, Benedict who is on leave from the army. Try as they might, they just can’t stop running into each other and can’t resist trying to outdo one another, with just a hint of flirting. Matters of the heart become a family affair as Beatrice’s cousin, Hero and Benedict’s protégé, Claudio fall under Sicily’s spell and fall in love. The warm terracotta tiles & balmy Italian evening heat up at a masked beach festival… but who is getting hot & sweaty on the dance floor; and who is declaring their love for who? And is someone trying to sabotage everyone’s holiday/happily ever ever?

This opulent tale is brimming with wit, trickery & mischief with heart coming out on top; and set against the luxurious backdrop of a modern-day Messina.

It will include ELSF’s trademark high-energy numbers, slapstick comedy characters for our younger audiences to enjoy, and a classic playlist including Busted, Dua Lipa, Irma Thomas, Jackie Wilson, and Sophia Loren, as well as original music by Patrick Rufey.

We hope you enjoy the party as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Dates/Tickets

07 June - 09 June 2024

Higham Hill Club, E17

12 June - 13 June 2024

Hoxton Community Gardens

Meet The Cast

Creative Team

Rosie Ward

Director

As well as being Co-Artistic Director of East London Shakespeare Festival, Rosie is the founder & Company Director of UpFront Theatre Company. She is the Principal of Act Out Performing Arts Schools. 

​She is a professional actor & singer, and trained in Acting at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts.

Theatre Credits include: Ariadne Ovid’s Metamorphoses (EdFringe & Vaults Festival, PantsOnFire), Cleopatra Anthony & Cleopatra & Goneril King Lear (Cambridge Shakespeare Festival); Lady Macbeth Macbeth – UK Tour & Viola Twelfth Night – Bloomsbury Theatre + UK Tour (Young Shakespeare Company); Soloist New Musicals Project – Leicester Square Theatre & Soloist British Musical Future Hosted by Stiles & Drewe – The Other Palace (As Told By).

​Rosie is based in Leytonstone along with her partner, 2 year old and Darcey the dog!

Genevieve Dunne

Movement Director

Jennie (Genevieve) Dunne is an actress who studied languages at Cambridge University. She then trained at Jacques Lecoq Theatre School and East 15 Acting School.

Jennie is Co-Artistic Director of NMT Automatics for which she has movement directed: The Orpheus Project; Dido + Aeneas: Remixed, Pandora’s Box and Tempus Fugit: Troy & Us

Credits as choreographer include: The Cambridge Fool’s When In Rome; Where’s Your Mama Gone (Hen and Chickens); The Matchgirls (RDC); The Abominable Snowman (Moon on a Stick Productions). Praise includes: ‘outstanding choreography’ (WhatsOnStage).

 Jennie is a regular performer and facilitator for the internationally renowned theatre company 1927, including lead roles in worldwide hit shows Golem, The Animals and Children and Roots.

She spent last year filming Interview With A Vampire in Prague, and can be spotted running around with fangs in the upcoming season.

Jennie is a Leytonstone local and performed in ELSF’s first season whilst heavily pregnant and is very much looking forward to Movement Directing Much Ado, with a little help from her toddler!

Patrick Rufey

Musical Director

Patrick trained at the Guildhall school of Music and Drama.

Musical Direction credits Include: Peter Pan, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty (Evolution Productions) NewsRevue 2012-2017 (The Canal Café Theatre, London) An Evening of Jerry Herman (St Pauls, The Actors Church, Covent Garden), Jack & The Beanstalk (The Beck Theatre, QDOS), Jack & The Beanstalk (Buxton Opera House) Cole Porter’s Jubilee (UK Premier, The Tabard Theatre, London), Peter Pan (Paul Holman Associates Pantomime, The Oakengates Theatre, Telford), My Lands Shore (UK Premier Concert Production, The Royal Academy of Music, London) Paprika Crisps (The Unicorn Theatre, London) Days of Hope (St Pauls, The Actors Church, Covent Garden) The Birds (The Leicester Square Theatre, London) Patrick Is also Principle Conductor of The Virtual Theatre Orchestra, formed in 2020 during Covid Lockdown.

As a Composer, Patrick has written for Talkwood Productions; a Musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which was performed at The Charing Cross Theatre in London in 2013, a musical parody of the Stephen Spielberg movie ‘Jurassic Park’ called Jurassic Lark The Musical (from the perspective of the Dinosaurs), which premiered at the Leister Square Theatre April 2015. Most recently He has written 1066 A New Musical and the studio cast album is available on all streaming services.

Andrew Hollingworth

Designer

Andrew has been a set builder for Redbridge Drama Centre on a handful of their Christmas productions. He has also been Tech Operator and Stage Manager on Katie Arnstein's "It's A Girl" Trilogy: Bicycles and Fish, Sexy Lamp and Sticky Door, and most recently on her production of The Long Run at the New Diorama Theatre.

Andrew trained as an actor and writes and produces shows for his theatre company Buckle Up Theatre. He has taken his work to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and to other festivals in the UK, America and Europe and won multiple awards.

George Thompson

Scenic Artist

George is a designer and illustrator working across a wide range of creative industries, specialising in theatre and costume. With a background in sculpture from Goldsmith University, George began working as a scenic painter in 2010 and has worked on a number of films and music videos since. George's style incorporates contemporary themes with a love of historical fashion and traditional making processes. His passion for extremes allows him to generate pieces that can vary from the wildly extravagant to the absurdly minimal. George's recent work includes a giant mural painted in the lobby of the Unicorn Theatre in London Bridge and an illustration collaboration with the Fashion and Textile museum.
 
George's designs featured in A Midsummer Night's Dream as the cushions in Titania's bower
 
Pieces are available to purchase:
https://instagram.com/houseofkiyote

Nina Ayres

Design Advisor

Having attained a first-class honours degree in Theatre Design at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, graduating in 1997, Nina began her career designing for a wide variety of theatre, dance and large-scale open-air productions. She is also the author of ‘Creating Outdoor Theatre’ a publication by Crowood press.

Although her passion for live performance never waned, Nina made the transition to film and TV over 13 years ago and now enjoys working in both genre’s.

Having worked across all areas of both costume and set departments she is well versed in Design, Styling, Construction, Prop Costume, Crafts, Textiles and Breakdown, she has an enormous wealth of experience and is a great problem solver.

She had the pleasure of working on five seasons of Game of Thrones (Emmy Nomination and Emmy Win, HBO), The Crown (Netflix), Fortitude (Sky) and also The Great (Hulu). She was then Costume Designer for The Last Kingdom (Netflix),  (Costume Designer Guild Award nomination, Starz), Carnival Row (Amazon Prime) and most recently ‘Adelaide and Noel’ for Green Candle dance company.

She has a reputation for being a practical and highly creative Designer able to deliver quality, detailed, well researched and considered designs from concept through to realisation. Nina enjoys working throughout Europe and worldwide, in new and often challenging work environments.

An avid traveller, Nina is passionate about the anthropology of clothing and fashion, being ancient or modern day. Coupled with a love of story telling she strives to create sets and costumes which have the characters identities seamlessly interwoven with their surroundings to visually aid the story.

Apprentice Scheme

Each year, ELSF employs talented young professionals to join the team. Our aim is to discover and nurture new talent. In addition to a professional credit, ELSF provides mentoring and training.

Joining the team this year will be an Apprentice Actor and Work experience placements.

Community Cast

Joining the company onstage for a selection of performances will be our wonderful Community Cast

Airport/party/wedding guests
The Watch
Sonnet 145

This opportunity was open to all: residents and participants joined us in rehearsals, as well as a workshop facilitated by industry professionals.

Walthamstow:

Coralie Francis, Inga Gece, Noelia Rufete-Gil, Moses Oyelakin, Tom Roberts, Zora Duric-Speare, Rain Wolfe, Mina Sigg-Horan, Rosa Hamilton, Grace Woodhead, Nadia Garay-Jackson, Raif Amlani, Annika Rose-Whiteman, Loran Osmani, Freya Davis, Oliver Dalby, Joni Garay-Jackson, Caleb Evers

Newham:

Simon Bravery, Glyn Morgan, Emma Harry, Yi Ge, Christina Clemitshaw, Lacey Fearon, Teagan Maginn

Our Partners

We have been hugely lucky to have our fair share of fairies, who have made this project possible

Newham Council Logo
Arts Council England Logo