Date posted:
Fri 29 July 2022
Located in the heart of Prescot, Merseyside, the brand-new playhouse - inspired by a theatre that once hosted the plays of Shakespeare in the town over 400 years earlier, in the 1590s - opened its doors to the public on Friday 15 July.
Hill Dickinson corporate lawyer Matt Noon, along with the firm’s head of Real Estate, Alex McCann, and legal director Graeme Alder, a specialist in commercial contracts, worked with the team at Shakespeare North Playhouse from December 2021 to provide legal advice and guidance as the development progressed.
Matt Noon, who is also head of Hill Dickinson’s Liverpool office and is leading on the provision of ongoing legal support for Shakespeare North Playhouse, said: “Community based ventures on this scale can be hugely beneficial in attracting national attention and in turn unlocking additional investment into the region. But they can also be a leap of faith, requiring significant start-up support. As someone who was born and brought up in the Liverpool City Region, I was delighted to be approached to get involved, both as a supporter of this fantastic initiative and to provide access to high quality legal advice. As legal partner to Shakespeare North Playhouse, we are excited to see how the project has come to life and look forward to our continued involvement with chair Max Steinberg and chief executive Melanie Lewis and their team.”
Melanie Lewis, chief executive of Shakespeare North Playhouse, added: “The team at Hill Dickinson have provided excellent legal advice and guidance to support us throughout the opening of this new and exciting venture. It is a privilege to continue working as a professional partner with Hill Dickinson and I look forward to their future involvement with Shakespeare North Playhouse.”
Shakespeare North Playhouse is part of a larger regeneration project in the borough of Knowsley that forms part of the government’s levelling-up agenda. The playhouse will offer a maximum of 472 seats, with an intimate and creative space for performances across all genres including comedy, drama and spoken word, plus additional space for community events and activities.