The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2014 pairing of Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing arrives in Manchester ahead of a Christmas season in the West End.
The action in both takes place either side of World War One and both feature the same company of actors.
Most of the 22-strong cast, including Edward Bennett as Berowne and Benedict, runs at the Opera House, Manchester (23 November to 3 December).
At the end of Love’s Labour’s Lost, two sparring lovers, Berowne and Rosaline, are separated; at the beginning of Much Ado About Nothing, two sparring lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, meet again after a long absence.