2016 is the four hundredth anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and as expected there is a veritable cavalcade of his works heading to the stage. However for my second encounter with the bard this year, I was once again presented with a play revolving around his family rather than his own work. Where Shaxpeare's Box was an all out comedy linked with Shakespeare's granddaughter, the much more serious affair of The Herbal Bed tells a story revolving around his daughter, Susanna Hall. Opening the 2016 season of Made In Northampton productions, The Herbal Bed is directed by the Royal & Derngate artistic director James Dacre. Once again his mark is present on the stage as set changes are smooth and clean, and dramatic moments are given wonderful audio edges from Becky Smith on sound design. I was particularly fascinated by the wonderful echo that resonated during the second act scenes in court, they must surely created? There are also some gorgeous light fades from ...