‘This royal throne of kings, this scept’red isle ... this other Eden, demi-paradise ...
this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England...’

(From John O'Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster's speech in RICHARD II)

demi-paradise productions, founded in 2000 by Stephen Tomlin, performs promenade productions of Shakespeare at Lancaster Castle, one of Britain's last great working castles with a history stretching back nearly 2,000 years.

The company's site specific interpretations of Richard II (2000), Measure For Measure (2001), Macbeth (2002), All's Well That Ends Well (2004), Richard III (2006) and Hamlet (2008) have reflected the history and continuing use of the building as a royal fortress, prison and court. Due to the restricted sizes of the various playing spaces audience capacity is limited to 60 per performance.

A rolling ensemble of regionally based professional performers and designers, demi-paradise is committed to creating an unforgettable experience of high quality classical drama. In recognition of this the company was short listed in 2008 for the prestigious Equity Ensemble Award, one of the Peter Brook/Empty Space Awards, presented annually to UK fringe theatres otherwise unsupported by public funds.