St Albans theatre company wins prestigious award

St Albans-based theatre company OVO is celebrating after being awarded the prestigious Minack Trophy for its 2016 production of As You Like It.

Set in the Summer of Love, OVO’s innovative musical interpretation of Shakespeare’s popular comedy of genders was a resounding success at both the Roman Theatre at

Verulamium and the world-renowned Minack Theatre in Cornwall.

It attracted sell-out audiences at both locations and now OVO has learned that it has won the coveted Minack Trophy for the best production to be staged at the theatre in 2016; a title that has never before been bestowed upon a company in their debut year at the theatre.

OVO’s artistic director Adam Nichols said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been given this incredibly prestigious award.

“Our aim when we went down to Cornwall was to perform well enough to be invited back, which we have been, but to have been thought of as worthy of the trophy is such an honour.”

As well as winning the trophy, As You Like It also broke the record for audience attendance for the second week in June at the Minack with over 4,200 people seeing the show.

OVO’s Autumn season is underway and the company will be staging productions of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, and August Strindberg’s The

Ghost Sonata this November.

Full details of the forthcoming season can be found on OVO’s website at www.ovotheatre.org.uk.