Knowsley's Altru theatre to perform at home of RSC

It’s the final countdown for community theatre group Altru, whose members will be performing at none other than the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company this week. The group, comprising of young people from Knowsley, will be taking their production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to the RSC’s Dell stage on July 14. The Dell is the RSC’s outdoor stage in the theatre gardens in Stratford upon Avon, a fixture of the summer months that plays host to a range of community productions. Altru is also hoping to perform in Liverpool at some point this month, with date and venue to be confirmed. Each year, the RSC open up their outdoor space The Dell to emerging theatre companies, community and youth groups and schools from across the UK to perform a Shakespeare play or a play by one of his contemporaries. This year the application process was opened worldwide, to celebrate the World Shakespeare Festival which is part of the Cultural Olympiad, and 27 organisations from across the world were selected to take part. Altru is one of two Liverpool companies heading to Stratford to take part in this event, and the only youth theatre from the city. Altru delivers youth and community theatre groups in the Knowsley area. Their 90 minute production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is directed by Kate Gorst and the cast is comprised of 20 young people. Kate says: “We're all so excited to perform in such an esteemed venue and fulfill every actor's dream of performing at the RSC. This is a huge opportunity for all of the young people involved. Knowsley is one of the most socially and economically deprived areas in Europe, however what we do have here is young people with huge amounts of passion, commitment, talent and dedication - and we at Altru do our best to give them the most amazing, inspiring experiences that will add to their CVs, give them a real taste of the creative industries and , of course, live in their hearts and memories for a long time to come.” Altru has been fundraising to make their ambitions a reality and there is still time for anyone wanting to help to get involved. For more information about their fundraising campaign or to make a donation big or small, visit http://www.sponsume.com/project/altru-youth-theatre-rsc.