PREPARATIONS are “on track” ahead of the return of Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre to York.

The pop-up theatre is beginning to take shape in the car park below Clifford’s Tower, with the scaffolding in place and the roof installed on the scaffolding.

The temporary structure is returning to the site for the second year running after its success last year, when it attracted a total audience of about 78,000 people.

The four plays to be performed this year are Hamlet, Henry V, The Tempest and Twelfth Night.

James Cundall, CEO of international theatre company, Lunchbox Theatrical Productions, which is behind the theatre, said: “The structure is going up really quickly.

“We are really happy. Everything is on track.

“This year we have created a new stage setting. When people go into the theatre they will see a different design and ceiling than they saw last year.”

He said 150 people are involved in rehearsals in tents set up at the Designer Outlet in York, while 14 seamstresses are busy in the Ryedale village of Welburn making costumes for the plays.