MAJOR businesses from across Worcestershire are backing an eagerly awaited arts venture.

Companies and organisations such as the University of Worcester, Hallmark solicitors, Webbs, King's School Worcester, Premier Places and Widget World are showing their support for Shakespeare At The Commandery by sponsoring the show.

The production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which is being performed in the gardens of the museum in Sidbury, Worcester, has attracted a lot of attention from well-known businesses.

Chris Jaeger, chief executive of Worcester Live, the company producing the event, said: "The level of support throughout the city for the project has been overwhelming. I have long believed that we should have an outdoor Shakespeare Festival every year in the city, but the costs of putting one on has always been so prohibitive.

"The support from these companies has been vital in ensuring that this production can be staged and also produced to the very highest standards, and I can't thank them enough."

Professor Judith Elkin, deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Worcester, said: "We are committed to playing a leading role in the arts and cultural life of Worcester."

The 10 companies sponsoring the show are Hallmark solicitors, Webbs, King's School, University of Worcester, CryoService, Widget World, Premier Places, Inspired Wines, Crowther Beard and John Yelland chartered accountants.

To find out more about A Midsummer Night's Dream, which runs from Tuesday, June 12, to Saturday, June 23, at the Commandery, call the Worcester Live box office on 01905 611427.