A sad tale's best for winter: I have one of sprites and goblins. Mamillius, The Winter's Tale

Shakespeare’s Winter’s Tale is a story of jealousy, rage, love, hope and redemption in the vividly contrasting lands of Sicily and Bochemia.

Leontes, King of Sicily, suspects his pregnant wife of infidelity with his boyhood friend Polixenes, ruler of Bohemia. Threatened with impending assassination, Polixenes flees for home, while the innocent Hermione is imprisoned to await charges of treason against her husband, and her newborn child is banished.

Leaving Sicily behind, the play moves forward in time and relocates to Bohemia, a place of youth, love and laughter, and where a youthful prince has eyes only for a mysterious young shepherdess. As courtship, circumstance and coincidence collide, Shakespeare’s Tale is brought full circle and each of his characters finds their own destiny and resolution.

Part cosmic fable, part family drama, The Winter’s Tale is one of Shakespeare’s later works, and an excellent example of the playwright’s maturity as a storyteller and dramatic innovator.

Liam Brennan (The Merchant of Venice, Othello) returns to the Lyceum in the lead role of Leontes with a strong supporting cast including Robin Laing (Monks, All My Sons), Peter Kelly (Monks), Alan Francis (The Wonderful World of Dissocia), Shonagh Price (All My Sons), Selena Boyack and Una Maclean.