Shakespeare with salt shakers: acclaimed theatre company brings miniature classics to Doncaster
Shakespeare’s most famous characters will be played by salt shakers, teacups and other everyday household objects when an internationally acclaimed theatre company comes to Doncaster this November.
Forced Entertainment will bring its unusual Table Top Shakespeare performances to Cast on Friday 13 and Saturday 14 November 2026, presenting six Shakespeare plays across three intimate shows.
Instead of elaborate sets and large casts, each performance takes place around a one-metre table, where a single performer retells one of Shakespeare’s plays using ordinary domestic objects to represent the characters.
The result is a deliberately playful and stripped-back take on stories including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear and Julius Caesar.
James Blakey, Director at Cast, said:
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Forced Entertainment back to Cast with such an imaginative and welcoming project.
“Table Top Shakespeare breaks down every barrier people might feel towards classic theatre. It’s witty, intimate and brilliantly inventive, giving our Doncaster audience a totally fresh, joyful way to experience these legendary stories right on their doorstep.”
Forced Entertainment, which is based in Sheffield and has been creating experimental theatre for more than 40 years, has performed around the world and received the International Ibsen Award in 2016.
Artistic Director Tim Etchells said the tabletop performances were designed to make the stories accessible even to people who may not usually consider themselves Shakespeare fans.
He said:
“They offer really accessible and dynamic tellings of the stories in everyday language.
“What we love is that using domestic objects on the tabletop as stand-ins for characters is both ridiculous and comical, but at the same time serious and truly effective theatrically.”
What is being performed in Doncaster?
The performances will take place in Cast’s Second Space.
Friday 13 November, 7.15pm
The Comedy of Errors and King Lear
Saturday 14 November, 2pm
Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar
Saturday 14 November, 7.15pm
Love’s Labour’s Lost and Hamlet
Cast says the performances are suitable both for people already familiar with Shakespeare and those encountering the plays for the first time.
Tickets start from £12 and are available from the Cast box office on 01302 303959 or through Cast’s website.