ANTIC Disposition are taking Shakespeare's comedy Much Ado About Nothing to seven English churches this summer, including Beverley Minster tonight and Ripon Cathedral on Friday and Saturday.

Set in a sun-drenched French village celebrating the new peace of 1945, director Ben Horslen and co-director/designer John Risebero's touring production draws inspiration from the beloved films of French comedy master Jacques Tati, such as Jour de Fête; Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot and Mon Oncle.

The verbal fireworks of Shakespeare’s "wittiest play" combine with briskly physical comedy, songs of the period and a live score by musical director Nick Barstow, as a company of actors and musicians from both sides of the Channel introduce the Bard's cast of vibrant and eccentric characters.

In Horslen and Riseboro's 130-minute interpretation, the peaceful village square of Messina becomes the battlefield for the "merry war" between Beatrice and Benedick, whose love-hate relationship forms the play's comic heart.

The directors say: "One of the many joys of our production of Henry V was working with the supremely talented dual-nationality cast of British

and French actors. It was an incredibly rewarding process and we all learnt so much from the experience, so we're very excited to be approaching our new production of one of Shakespeare’s sunniest comedies in the same spirit of Anglo-French collaboration."

Tickets for the 7.30pm performances are on sale at much-ado.co.uk or on 0333 666 3366.