THE Winter’s Tale is considered to be one of Shakespeare’s difficult, unclassifiable plays, but director Simon Godwin dismisses that notion.

At the TakeOver09 festival, his contemporary take on the 450-year-old play combines the tight plotting of a thriller with the mythic beauty of a fairytale.

“People used to call it a problem play because it mixes different styles but now I think that’s one of its great strengths. Today’s audiences are ready for complex stories. I’m excited by the chance to bring to life the tragic, the comic, the pastoral and the fairytale,” says Simon.

“I do think the study of tyranny is a very immediate concern for us right now – the way that people are manipulated politically for the tyrant’s gain. And I think we’re always interested in miracles.

“What is a miracle for us in a secular world? Where do we access the sublime? The awesome? Shakespeare asks us to look at the greater horizon. The whole play feels like a spell which is designed to open our eyes, and as Paulina says, ‘to awake our faith’ to something bigger.”

Performances start in the main house at 7.30pm on Tuesday and 2pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday. Box office: 01904 623568.