OPEN air Shakespeare continues to find an audience in Worcester.

Newly formed company Theatre 910 is performing sparkling comedy Much Ado About Nothing in the picturesque gardens of The Greyfriars.

The outdoor show, staged come rain or shine, runs until Saturday and director Steve Quick hopes to entice bigger audiences.

“We’re still trying to attract more people,” he said. “It’s amazing how many people living in Worcester don’t know about Greyfriars. It’s the most beautiful setting.”

Last year, The Winter’s Tale was performed within the gardens and dozens of Shakespeare fans braved the wet, windy weather.

“We’ve managed to keep our audience,” said Quick. “They’ve come back despite the fact most of them had to wear frogmen suits.” Yesterday was opening night and theatre goers, armed with umbrellas, coped with light showers of rain.

“It rained a little but nobody cared,” said Quick.

“They just put up their umbrellas and carried on.”

It is an attitude any feisty Shakespearian female would admire. “We love Much Ado and the story of Beatrice and Benedick,” said Quick. “Everybody does.”

Believed to have first been performed in 1598, Much Ado About Nothing is considered one of the Bard’s most accessible and witty comedies.

It tells the story of four young lovers – Claudio and Hero and Benedick and Beatrice. The latter famously try to outwit, outsmart and offend each other.

Drama is proving popular through the Worcester Festival and from tonight local company Borrowed Foot are staging an original piece, Gods Die In Hot Cars, in Fort Royal Hill in Sidbury. The play, described as an examination of attitudes to conflict, is based on personal accounts of war. It runs until Sunday night.

Much Ado runs until Saturday. For tickets call the Worcester Festival box office on 01905 611427.