SIX amateur actors from Kidderminster have been cast in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s forthcoming production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The group from The Nonentities will play the roles of the ‘Mechanicals’ when the production plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, between February 17 to March 5 next year.

Some of Shakespeare’s best loved characters, the ‘Mechanicals’ (including the iconic role of Bottom the Weaver) are an under-prepared, yet loveable bunch of craftsmen and women who put themselves forward to entertain royalty at the end of the play.

Patrick Bentley will play Starveling, the Tailor, Andrew Bingham Snug, the Joiner, Chris Clarke Bottom, the Weaver, Sue Downing Quince, the Carpenter, Simon Hawkins Snout, the Tinker, and Alex Powell Flute, the Bellows Mender.

The other six roles of the Mechanicals will be played by other amateur actors from Stratford-upon-Avon's The Bear Pit.

The groups will perform alongside a cast of 18 professional actors, and a professional creative team, led by RSC deputy artistic director, Erica Whyman. Initially the amateur actors will rehearse in their hometowns with their own amateur directors, Stephen Downing (of The Nonentities) and Nicky Cox (of The Bear Pit). They will then rehearse with the RSC team from January 2016.

Ms Whyman said: "I am absolutely thrilled to be directing A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play For the Nation, as part of the RSC’s plans to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death in 2016. The experience of casting our amateur actors all around the UK has been inspiring and humbling. I have met so many wonderful people - talented, dedicated and brave. The standard has been tremendous, and the wonderful diversity of men and women who will be taking on these major roles is very exciting, and perhaps most importantly, they have really made us laugh. In every single region the cast we have chosen has a distinctive voice and a strong sense of connection to the place where they will perform. I think it will be a real treat for audiences everywhere to see Shakespeare’s most magical play with a properly local flavour.

Talking specifically of The Nonentities, Erica added: "The Nonentities are a tight-knit group who impressed us with their warm generosity of spirit. Hailing from Kidderminster, they bring an infectious joy to speaking Shakespeare’s language. The whole group have terrific instincts - Chris plays Bottom with a lovely straightforward charm and Alex’s portrayal of Flute is genuinely moving. Definitely not nonentities."

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Play for the Nation will visit 12 theatres in each region and nation of the UK between 17 February and 4 June 2016, and will involve 14 different amateur theatre companies. In each theatre a different local amateur theatre company will play the Mechanicals, and local school children will take part as Titania’s fairy train.

The production opens in Stratford-upon-Avon in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in February 2016. After the UK tour, it will return to Stratford-upon-Avon in June 2016, and each of the 14 amateur companies, including The Nonentities and The Bear Pit, will reprise their roles on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage.

Tickets will go on sale in September 2015 and will be available from rsc.org.uk or by calling 01789 403493.