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Selfridges opened the doors to The reFASHIONed Theatre on the lower ground floor of its flagship store on London’s Oxford Street store last week (Tuesday August 23).
The retailer claims the venture is the world’s first fully-fledged theatre within a department store. The 122-seat auditorium is a collaboration between Selfridges and UK theatre company The Faction.
Selfridges said: ‘As a revolutionary retailer famed for introducing retail theatre to Europe, among many other innovative concepts, were are perhaps the most legitimate retailer in the world to host a fully-functioning theatre.
‘With a reputation for staging sharply contemporary Shakespeare productions and innovative collaborations, The Faction is the perfect partner for this unique venture.’
The reFASHIONed Theatre will showcase a five-week run of a new contemporary production of Shakespeare play ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ until Saturday September 24.
Leading the nine-strong cast is Evening Standard Award nominee Daniel Boyd and star of the BBC One murder mystery series ‘Shetland’ Alison O’Donnell as Beatrice and Benedick.
The production also features a line-up of ‘digital cameos’ from actors including Simon Callow, Rufus Hound and Meera Syal. These pre-recorded cameos will be projected into the space as news reports and CCTV footage, as part of the 21st century refashioning of the production.
‘Much Ado About Nothing’ in the ReFASHIONed Theatre marks the penultimate stage of Selfridges’ themed store-wide campaign, Shakespeare ReFASHIONED, which celebrates the 400th anniversary year of the death of the world’s most famous playwright.
The campaign includes a mix of bespoke windows creations by leading fashion designers and special product collaborations.
Selfridges operates four stores in: London, Birmingham and Manchester (Trafford Centre, Exchange Square) and an international website which delivers within the UK and to over 130 countries, trading in eight currencies.
Tickets for ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ can be booked at www.selfridges.com/shakespeare
The cast of ‘Much Ado About Nothing’
