SHAKESPEARE is on the road and coming to Gloucestershire and Warwickshire later this month.

The British Touring Shakespeare Company will perform works by the Bard at Mill Dene Gardens and Charlecote Park during July, as part of its national tour.

The troupe, billed as the UK's premier summer Shakespeare company, performs to more than 12,000 people each year, at home and abroad.

The costumes are provided by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Founded in Durham in 1999, the company is now in its third outdoor season.

The latest tour is supporting the Daily Mail's foot and mouth appeal, with a percentage of every ticket sale going back into the communities from which the audiences are drawn.

The Gloucestershire and Warwickshire tour dates are: Mill Dene Gardens: July 16, As You Like It; July 17, Love's Labour's Lost; July 18, Twelfth Night.

Charlecote Park: July 19, As You Like It; July 20, Love's Labour's Lost; July 21, Twelfth Night.

Advance booking details and a full tour itinerary can be found at www.britishtouringshakespeare.