As you like objects: International pioneers Forced Entertainment tour the North with Table Top Shakespeare

Audiences across the North of England are set for a theatrical treat this November as world-leading performance company Forced Entertainment tours its celebrated Selected Works: Table Top Shakespeare.

Visiting Sheffield Theatres, Cast in Doncaster, Barnsley Civic, and Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, the Sheffield-based ensemble is reinventing how we experience classic drama. A single performer sits at a one-metre table to recount iconic plays using everyday domestic objects—from condiment pots to glass vases—as characters, creating a performance style that is absurdly funny, intimate, and captivating.

“The table top Shakespeare pieces are pretty unusual in the body of our work but they’re a fantastic introduction to the playful performer-led approach we have – really accessible and dynamic tellings of the Shakespeare stories in everyday language that really open things up and connect for audiences,” says Tim Etchells, Artistic Director of Forced Entertainment.

“What we love also is that the low-level puppetry we use in the project – everyday domestic objects are arranged on the table top and used as stand-ins for the characters – is both ridiculous and comical, and at the same time serious and truly effective theatrically,” Etchells adds.

Each work re-tells the story of a Shakespeare play. A performer sits at a table and using a collection of household objects as stand-ins for the characters explores the dynamic force of storytelling in a simple, unique and highly accessible way.

The Northern tour spans four venues throughout November 2026: Sheffield Theatres Tanya Moiseiwitsch Playhouse (10–12 November), Cast in Doncaster (13–14 November), Barnsley Civic (17–19 November), and Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot (26–28 November).

Each venue hosts a distinct lineup of plays, giving audiences the opportunity to catch multiple pairings of comedy, history, and tragedy across the tour.

Selected Works: Table Top Shakespeare plays at Cast Doncaster Fri 13 – Sat 14 Nov. Tickets are available here.