THERE’S much ado about a new cruise initiative that will see Shakespeare all at sea – with world-class theatre performed live on the ocean wave.

Cruise giant Cunard is teaming up with the Royal Shakespeare Company to bring the Bard onboard, staging special productions on Queen Mary 2.

Guests will enjoy special theatrical productions exclusive to the ship, spanning the works of Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other literary legends.

The headline act will be Boundless as the Sea, a unique blend of the Bard’s iconic love scenes, and named after the famous words heard in Act 2, Scene 2 of Romeo and Juliet.

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea,

My love as deep. The more I give to thee

The more I have, for both are infinite”.

Created by director Owen Horsley, the production has been specially adapted from an original one-off performance staged in the New York Times building.

That show included extracts from Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello, Winter’s Tale, Troilus and Cressida and A Midsummer Nights’s Dream, with original music by Harry Waller.

QM2 guests will also have the opportunity to see the RSC’s Miss Littlewood, a critically acclaimed musical by Sam Kenyon exploring the life of one of theatre’s most playful and radical figures.

Anti-establishment, visionary, rude and glorious, Joan Littlewood fired the imagination of a generation, and the show charts her journey from The East End to the West End.

Her unique Theatre Workshop was responsible for a raft of successes including Oh, What A Lovely War!, and breathed new life into the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Told with uncompromising honesty, the musical reveals a mighty love story at its heart.

In addition, for those interested in learning what it takes to be an RSC actor, the cast will be leading workshops and there’ll be informal performance and Q&A events too.

Lee Powell, Vice President, brand and product at Cunard, says: “We are delighted to welcome the Royal Shakespeare Company on board our flagship, Queen Mary 2.

“To be able to offer our guests access to unique performances by world leaders in both contemporary theatre and Shakespeare’s finest work, is an extraordinary opportunity which I know our guests will fully immerse themselves in.”

The three-year partnership will begin in May. See www.cunard.co.uk for itineraries and updates.