Britain | The play’s not the only thing

Shakespeare and the revival of Prescot

A new theatre raises the question of how to value culture

interior shot Shakespeare North Playhouse

Prescot, near Liverpool, is thought to be the site of the only Elizabethan-era indoor playhouse outside London. The original may have been rather unimpressive, constructed at the end of the 16th century and decommissioned not more than two decades later. The theatre opening there on July 15th, a timber-framed replica of a 17th-century cockpit playhouse, is meant to have greater impact.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The play’s not the only thing”

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