THE first actor to star at Shakespeare's Rose Theatre in York - and a fresh artists' impression of the adjoining Elizabethan village - can be revealed today by The Press.

Macbeth is to be played by former Coronation Street, Holby City and Mamma Mia! actor Richard Standing is in the opening production at the pop-up theatre near Clifford’s Tower on June 25.

The Yorkshire actor, who played Danny Hargreaves in ITV soap Corrie around the turn of the century, will also have a lesser role in a second Shakespeare play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, during the new outdoor theatre’s 10-week run. York’s Leandra Ashton, of Coronation Street and Holby City, will play Lady Macbeth.

It has also emerged that a gender-swapping A Midsummer Night’s Dream will see Antony Bunsee, of the RSC and Eastenders, play Titania, with Amanda Ryan, of Shameless, taking the role of Oberon.

Versailles star Alexander Vlahos to play Romeo opposite The Musketeers’ Alexandra Dowling’s Juliet while Requiem’s Dyfan Dwyfor will play Richard III.

James Cundall, whose company Lunchbox Theatrical Productions is behind the Rose theatre project, said he had already worked with Richard five years ago when he was producing a stage version of Mamma Mia! in Manila in which the actor played Sam.

He said the Elizabethan village which will be built alongside the theatre would seek to re-create the full experience of theatre going in Elizabethan times, when there would often be activities such as bear-baiting in the vicinity.

“We aren’t having bear baiting but we’re having two bears carved which will be in the beer garden, which will be called the ‘bear garden,’” he said.

“We will have a 15 by five metre building where there will be the bar and hot food sold, which will be made with timber supplied by the sawmill at Duncombe Park, near Helmsley, using timber from Yorkshire.

“The building will be thatched, as will four smaller buildings serving food and drink.

“We have managed to find a wagon from the Yorkshire Wolds, dating back to the 1890s, which is being restored and on which free entertainment will be provided.

“There will be music and sonnets will be read from the wagon but during the performances in the theatre, silent Shakespeare movies will be shown on the large LED screen, including one filmed in 1898.

“There will also be an Elizabethan garden designed and created by Yorkshire garden designer Sally Tierney, with ornate box-edged beds of cottage flowers, roses and herbs.

“More than 400 years ago, the first audiences for Shakespeare’s plays enjoyed an experience that was as intimate as it was exciting, crowded in close to the actors and the action, in a small theatre in the bustling city of London.

“In Shakespeare's Rose Theatre, an experience every bit as exciting, intimate and immersive will be offered to today’s audiences in a dramatic playhouse setting beside the iconic 13th century Clifford’s Tower in the heart of the historic city of York.

“The unique environment of Shakespeare's Rose Theatre connects actors and audience together in ways many people will never have encountered before. While an interactive experience awaits those closest to the stage in the courtyard, no seat in the theatre will be more than 15m from the action, providing plenty of breath-taking, spine-tingling, heart-stopping moments!"