Shakespeare’s most popular comedy will be showcased in the Isle of Man this weekend at two of the island’s most stunning historic locations.

‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ will be shown at Peel Castle and Rushen Abbey gardens in Ballasalla.

The annual Shakespeare performances, hosted in conjunction with Manx National Heritage, are brought to the island by Grantly Marshall, founder of ‘American Drama Group Europe’, who perform a variety of theatre performances around the world.

In 1994, the group began touring European castles featuring many illustrious places including Castle Cornet in Guernsey, Mont Orgueil Castle in Jersey, Rygaards Skole in Denmark, Residenz Würzburg, Schloss Faber-Castell and Schloss Ortenburg in Germany.

The actors come from New York, London and Paris where the productions are cast and directed.

The story of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ follows the fortunes of a quartet of lovers who are lured into the forest by fairies, who trick them with a magic potion that forces them to fall in love with the first person they see.

Sadly, the ‘queen of fairies’ herself takes the potion, and when a donkey crosses her path, she falls in love with the beast.

A spokesperson from Manx National Heritage said: ‘This comedy explores the madness of love and laughs at human folly. It contains some of the finest poetry that Shakespeare wrote, as well as slapstick comedy, touching love scenes, mystery and theatrical magic.’

The performance at Peel Castle takes place on the evening of Saturday, July 27, followed by a matinee performance at Rushen Abbey on Sunday, July 28.

Tickets for these performances are priced at £25.50 for adults and £15.50 for children and students.

If you wish to purchase tickets or find out more, you can visit www.manxnationalheritage.im/whats-on.