2 July-27 Sept. The summer drama season at Rome’s Silvano Toti Globe Theatre is once again under the artistic direction of popular Roman actor Gigi Proietti.

The 2015 festival is shorter than usual, with one less production than last year, and the programme was announced at the eleventh hour.

However a major novelty this year is an English-language production of The Comedy of Errors, performed by the Bedouin Shakespeare Company. Directed by Chris Pickles, the production will be the Globe's first show in English, and the first in Italy for the prestigious London-based company.

The five productions are: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2-12 July), King Lear (16 July-2 Aug), Much Ado About Nothing (5-30 Aug), Othello (3-20 Sept), and The Comedy of Errors (24-27 Sept). All are in Italian with the exception of the final show.

The charming timber theatre, in the heart of Villa Borghese, is a full-scale reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, copied from the original designs, and almost identical to the one that stands on London’s South Bank.

For full details see website.