Love’s Labour’s Lost

Directed by Toby Gordon

We will be back this summer to celebrate our 10th anniversary with a new production of Love’s Labour’s Lost, Shakespeare’s sparkling comedy of flirtation, foolishness and the irresistible pull of love.

3rd June – 12th July

Book Tickets

Director’s Note

New rules are in place in the Kingdom of Navarre. Young King Ferdinand persuades his companions to join him in an oath of abstinence and study.

The terms of the oath are clear: no woman shall come within a mile of the court. Any man seen talking with a woman shall endure such public shame as the rest of the court can possibly devise.

The conviction of the men of Navarre is soon put to the test when the Princess of France and her companions arrive on urgent diplomatic business. How can the men possibly navigate this visit without breaking their oath?

Bring your picnic and wine, your sunglasses and your participatory spirit, and join Shakespeare in the Squares for a summer cocktail of poetic pageantry and light-hearted lunacy, featuring rock and pop classics from the 1960s and ’70s.

Come and join us in Navarre for a sparkling night of flirtation and foolishness as we celebrate our 10th anniversary in summer 2026.

Toby Gordon, February 2026

Behind the Scenes

Crew

Toby Gordon

Director

Toby is an actor and theatre maker from York. Toby trained at LAMDA. His theatre credits include Small Change (Omnibus Theatre); The Wolf of Wall Street and The Great Gatsby (Hartshorn Hook); York Mystery Plays (York Minster); Antigone (Barbican). Toby performed in Shakespeare in The Squares’ Twelfth Night as the Duke Orsino / Sir Toby Belch and as Parolles / Assistant Director for All’s Well That Ends Well.

Francesca Gregson

Executive Producer / Marketing

Francesca is the founder of Distrikt Communications, a London-based PR and marketing agency. Distrikt works with a range of creative clients, including architectural practices, theatre companies and arts festivals, and is dedicated to promoting the best of London’s cultural activities and events. Francesca joined Shakespeare in the Squares as Marketing Manager for The Tempest (2022) and became Executive Producer for Twelfth Night (2023).

Alex Pearson

Executive Producer

Alex is an experienced Director and Producer, who has worked at a large number of venues throughout London and the rest of the country, on a multitude of different productions, including plays, musicals and operas. Alex has a passion for Shakespeare, and is progressively working through his entire canon, either as Assistant Director or Director. Alex joined Shakespeare in the Squares as Assistant Director for The Tempest (2022) and became Executive Producer for Twelfth Night (2023).

Charlotte Benedict

Movement Director

Charlotte is a movement director from York. Her recent credits include Sleep Pirates (2022) and A Midsummer Night’s Mischief (2023) for Hoglets Theatre Company, as well as Choreographer for the York Maze summer seasons (2023–2025) and Hallowscream Stage Shows (2023–2025). Charlotte is delighted to be bringing her passion for storytelling through movement to this vibrant production.

Kathryn Corlett

Graphic Designer & Illustrator

Kathryn is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator,
this is her fifth year creating bespoke, theme
specific designs for the Shakespeare in the
Squares productions. She studied Graphic Design
at Falmouth College of Arts and has 19 years
experience as a professional designer, working on
a broad range of projects including marketing,
book, exhibition and brand design.

Eleanor Lloyd

Press

Eleanor is the Communications Manager of Distrikt Communications. She has a BA in English Literature and Language and an MA in Media and Creative Industries from Loughborough University. As a keen theatre-goer, she is delighted to be a part of the Shakespeare in the Squares team.

Annemarie Lewis Thomas

Musical Director

Credits include Sleeping Beauty (Watersmeet), Crazy Coqs Presents, West End at the Life Cafe, Oliver (Wycombe Swan), Elephant and Piggie’s We Are In A Play (Perform in the Park), Twelfth Night (Shakespeare in the Squares), Don’t Tell The Bishop (Actors’ Church), Misleading Ladies (Cornerstone, Cardiff), Billie The Kid (Workshop & West End concert), The Wizard of Poz (2 Brewers), The Greater Game (Southwark Playhouse), Home for Christmas (Grand Theatre, Swansea), From Up Here (Trafalgar Studios), Annie (No 1 tour), Black Eyed Susan (Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds), Rent (Olympia Theatre Dublin) UK premieres of Victor/Victoria (Bridewell), The Ultimate Man (Bridewell), Reefer Madness (Bridewell) and Naked Boys Singing (Madam JoJos), the London premiere of Calamity Jane (BAC). Annemarie has also composed for many shows and was the Founder & Principal of the multi-award winning drama college, The MTA, 2009 – 2022.

John Huyton

Production Manager

John trained at The Drama Centre London and has worked as Company Manager on numerous UK Tours and West End productions. John has worked with producers Sonia Friedman, Michael Harrison & Kenny Wax, Cameron Mackintosh, The Ambassador Theatre Group and PW Productions Ltd, on productions directed by Trevor Nunn, Lindsey Posner, Robin Herford, Simon Callow and Craig Revell Horwood. Shows have featured well known actors such as Brian Cox, Patrick Stewart, Dame Diana Rigg, Zoe Wannamaker, Dominic West, Simon Callow, Joanna Lumley, Sinead Cusack and Rufus Sewell.

Bethany Fulcher

Company Stage Manager

Bethany trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and has worked on a range of plays and musicals across the UK. Her theatre credits include Blood Brothers (Bill Kenwright Limited), Never Let Me Go & Glass Menagerie (Rose Theatre), Kin (Factory Playhouse Productions), Quiet Rebels (Vital Xposure) and Soon & Pilot (Eclipse Theatre) at Edinburgh Fringe festival. This is Bethany’s third year with Shakespeare in the Squares.

Helen Parkin-Moore

Assistant Stage Manager

Helen trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Theatre includes This is Not a Happy Room (King’s Head Theatre), The Lonely Londoners (Kiln Theatre), The Forsyte Saga (Park Theatre), The Barber of Seville (Waterperry Opera Festival), Into The Woods (Royal Academy of Music), Succession Theme is My Ringtone (Rose Theatre), Peter Pan (Rose Theatre), A Single Man (Park Theatre), Follies, Beauty and the Beast, Curtains (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama).

Camilla Dilshat

Production Assistant

Camilla is an emerging sculpture & installation artist based in London. She holds an MA in Fine Art from the City & Guilds of London Art School where she won the Tony Carter Award. Afterwards, she stayed on at CGLAS as the Wood Fellow until 2025. Alongside her art practice, Camilla has been involved for the past two years as a Student Administrator for The Creative Dimension Trust and is excited to assist the Shakespeare in the Squares team for Love’s Labour’s Lost.

Martin Neild

Founder Producer

Martin worked in publishing for over thirty years. He worked for Macmillan in Australia,Africa and London and became Chief Executive of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers in 1993. He is Co-Chair of the Oxford School of Drama and a trustee of the Michael Cuddigan Trust which gives grants to young composers. He is a regular and passionate theatregoer.

Sue Fletcher

Founder Producer

Sue had a forty-year career in book publishing, including as co-founder of Headline and Deputy MD of Hodder & Stoughton. She has an MA in Theatre and Performance from Queen Mary, University of London, and in 2011 was one of the judges for the Olivier Awards. She goes to the theatre three or four times a week and remains captivated by the magic of live performance.

Emily Stuart

Designer

Emily is an award-winning costume designer living and working in London. Previous credits for Shakespeare in the Squares are All’s Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing. She was shortlisted for the 2025 UK Pantomime Awards for her costumes for Jack and the Beanstalk (Theatre, Chipping Norton) and regularly works with Sweet Charity (Glastonbury Festival).

Colette Robinson-Collcutt

Costume Supervisor

Colette is a costume supervisor and costume maker based in London. Her work has been seen in many Fringe and West End shows. Recent credits include Wardrobe Assistant on Othello (Shakespeare’s Globe), Head of Wardrobe for Wishmas (Secret Cinema), Wardrobe assistant on Macbeth (Shakespeare’s Globe). Previous Shakespeare in the Square credits as costume supervisor: Macbeth (2024), All’s Well That Ends Well (2024), Twelfth Night (2023), The Tempest (2022).

Bella Chapman

Assistant Director

Bella graduated from Durham University with a degree in English Literature. Bella has a background in directing, intimacy coordination/ direction and acting. She was the Co-President of Fourth Wall Theatre Company, with which she directed Fiji, which went on to win the Palatinate Award 2023 (best Durham University show of the year; over 100+ plays and musicals). Other notable experiences include her playing Shay (lead female) in the sell-out, critically acclaimed play May Contain Traces of Nuts at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The show was named Best Ensemble Performance (Theatre Weekly) and received multiple five-star reviews. Bella’s passion for intersectional feminism has been, and continues to be, a driving force in her creative work.

Jane Frisby

Casting Director

Jane previously cast The Tempest, Twelfth Night, and last year’s All’s Well That Ends Well, directed by Sioned Jones, with whom she also collaborated on the company’s first Winter Tour of Macbeth. She has worked extensively with the National Film and Television School and on numerous graduation short films for the London Film School. Her credits include a range of feature films, from Hear My Song (1991) to Interview With a Hitman and Jellyfish.