THE show will go on regardless of the weather when a theatre company returns to the Ribble Valley next month.

Bosses at Stonyhurst College have made arrangements to ensure that the audience for a Shakespeare play gets to see the whole show, and not just the first act like last year.

The Chapterhouse Theatre Company's actors only made it to the end of the first act of Much Ado About Nothing before the heavens opened, bringing an early curtain down on the outdoor performance.

The company is returning, this time to perform Midsummer Night's Dream, in the grounds of the historic college.

"We are determined we will not be caught out this year when the company returns", said Domestic Bursar Frances Ahearne.

"We have made arrangements for the play to be performed within the college if it is wet - and we will provide seating, as we did last year, so that the audience does not have to sit on the grass if it is damp from previous rain."

The new production of Midsummer Night's Dream is set in the rip-roaring Twenties, in the world of Jeeves and Wooster and country house living.

Midsummer Night's Dream is being staged on Friday, August 13 at 7.30pm.

Tickets are available from the College (01254 826345), the Tourist Information Centres in Clitheroe (01200 425566) and Blackburn (01254 53277) and from Seetickets (0871 2200260).

Admission £11 for adults and £8 for students and children aged five to 16.

The grounds will be open from 6pm for picnics and refreshments will be available.