Lottery bid for new Bard theatre

A £20m bid for lottery funding to build a theatre dedicated to the Bard's links with Merseyside has been launched.

Shakespeare North wants to create an education and community arts complex, including an Elizabethan cockpit-style theatre, in Prescot, Knowsley.

William Shakespeare spent time in the area, staying with the Stanley Family, the Earls of Derby, at Knowsley Hall.

School pupils and local residents are being invited to a series of drama workshops to get to know the Bard.