COMING up, Ulverston International Music Festival presents English Touring Opera and its dramatic production of Macbeth on Tuesday, March 19 (7.30pm) at the Coronation Hall. Starring Grant Doyle as Macbeth with Tanya Hurst playing Lady Macbeth, Verdi’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s iconic play follows Macbeth on a blood-soaked journey to the throne with guilt ridden Lady Macbeth descending into the depths of despair. Sung in English. Box office 01229-587140.

CHAOS Collective Theatre and its forward-thinking director Lauren Davey, have turned their artistic attention to the industrial bedlam of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, launching the Old Laundry Theatre's spring season with the Bard's iconic tragedy on Friday, March 1 (7.30pm). Bringing a distinctive combination of music, movement and madness to the Bowness theatre, Chaos Collective turns one of Shakespeare’s finest works into an unforgettable visual experience. Box office 015394-40872.

ONE of the top touring theatre companies in the UK is bringing Shakespeare’s greatest romantic comedy to The Dukes from March 5-9. Much Ado About Nothing, is in the capable theatrical hands of Northern Broadsides in a co-production with award-winning New Vic Theatre. The adaptation of the famous love story is set at the end of the Second World War when returning soldiers swap the booming battlefield for a landscape of love, masked balls and much-needed laughter. Box office 01524-598500.