A rarely performed William Shakespeare play will be brought to life in Hamilton's Playhouse Theatre this month, coinciding with the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.
Carving in Ice Theatre company, based at the University of Waikato, has never performed a Shakespeare production before, and director Gaye Poole thought if there were ever a year to put on Love's Labour's Lost in Hamilton, 2016 is the time.
First performed in 1597, the romantic comedy tells the story of King Ferdinand and his three right hand men choosing to "swear off women for three years", only to face the challenge of a French princess and her three best friends coming to visit the Kingdom of Navarre.
The play follows the resulting drama and hilarity of the varied experiences of the four couples.
"I'm not particularly interested in doing one of the well-known plays again, like Midsummer Night's Dream or Hamlet," said Poole.