POCKET Theatre will be staging their very own version of William Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece The Tempest in the beautiful gardens of The Bishop of Winchester at Wolvesey tonight and tomorrow.

Life is a circus for Prospero until he is overthrown by his evil brother and banished to a desert island. When all his old friends are washed up in a shipwreck chaos ensues! This is a perfect introduction to Shakespeare for children but also provides something for the life-long fan to get their teeth into.

Director David Tatnall promises an evening of candy-floss and clowns, magical moments, musical monsters, madness, sadness and cloudbursts.

Audiences are invited to bring picnics from 90 minutes before show time to enjoy the lovely surroundings of Wolvesey before the show starts.

The company, who have made a name for themselves with small-scale, high energy productions including last year's Curtain Call Best Pantomime, Dick Whittington, comprises of a dozen talented performers well-known within the region’s operatic societies and youth theatres.

The show features Pocket favourites Mark Ponsford, as Antonio, alongside Adrian Hickford as King Alonso, Lucy Whiteman as Queen Sebastian with Philip de Grouchy as Prospero.

Performance times are 7pm tonight and 2pm and 7pm tomorrow. Tickets are available at ticketsource.co.uk/pocket or on the door.