Two of Maldon's major new events for 2003 will be launched at a special opening ceremony tonight.

Maldon's first-ever beer festival, organised by Dengie Camra, will be giving lift-off at the town hall tonight.

The stage will also be set for the launch of Maldon District's Shakespeare Festival which marks the 400th anniversary of a visit to Maldon by William Shakespeare and his company in 1603.

The beer festival, which will celebrate a batch of Shakespeare-themed beers from local brewers Mighty Oak until Saturday, is the first in a series of Shakespeare-themed events planned to run until August.

In May, festival-goers can look forward to a historical talk by John Southworth on Shakespeare's tour of England 1603, the screening of John Madden's Shakespeare In Love, starring Gwynneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes, and Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing.

In June, The Plume School in Fambridge Road will be hosting a 'Bard in Their Eyes' evening, when the audience will vote on their favourite performance of monologues by students at the school.

Maldon's popular Promenade Park will play host to the highlight of the festival, Shakespeare in the Park.

The event will take place in June, when a community production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by local actor Barrie Jaimeson and performed by amateur actors from the Maldon area, will be staged.

In August, the celebrations will end with a production of Henry V by professional touring group Mad Dogs and Englishmen.

For more information, call Olivia Walley on 01621 875 866 or e-mail olivia.walley@maldon.gov.uk

Published Wednesday, April 23, 2003

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