WHEN he was 18 Dominic Gerrard went on a school trip to see Propeller’s take on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night performed at their Newbury home, the Windmill Theatre.

It proved to be an inspirational experience.

“It’s how it all started for me,” says Gerrard.

“I was blown away by the production. I hadn’t decided I wanted to be an actor up to then.”

Now he is part of the ensemble cast for Propeller’s 2013/14 tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Comedy Of Errors, working alongside three actors in that original production.

“It’s the running joke that I’m referred to as The Duke,” says Gerrard, referring to his named roles as Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Duke in The Comedy Of Errors.

“The majority of the time most of us are on stage as ensemble characters. No-one is given the spotlight for too long.

“No-one feels undervalued and everyone gets to play to their strengths. There’s no sitting in the wings for half an hour doing the crossword.”

At the centre of the production is the language, with director Edward Hall carefully drilling his cast in the rehearsal stages.

“We’re very traditional in showing respect for the language, but we’re trying to keep it alive and different from other productions,” says Gerrard. “They are done so much everywhere all over the world, we wanted to find our own slant.”

Propeller is an all-male company, taking on both male and female parts as would have happened in Shakespeare’s own time, which in turn underlines some of the gags about gender in the original text.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is in a 19th century Alice In Wonderland style spirit world, while The Comedy Of Errors sees the cast dressed in 1980s fashions on a package holiday.

“They complement each other,” says Gerrard. “But they are so different. The Comedy Of Errors is a farce, with high speed action, mistaken identity, doors slamming and people in the wrong places.

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream is in this spirit world alongside the material world. It’s beautiful and dark.

“It’s easy to have preconceptions about Shakespeare’s comedies, but they change so much from play to play.”

The physicality comes out of the language.

“In A Midsummer Night’s Dream when Demetrius, Lysander, Hermia and Helena have a big fight they really go for each other,” says Gerrard. “It is incredibly physical, and that physicality comes out of the text.

“Edward is always full of fantastic ideas, but when we are working through things we can all chip in ideas for music and movement. Edward makes the final decision, but it is collaborative.”

The ten-month tour, which included international dates, has meant the company has got very close. “We’re not throwing televisions out of hotel windows but we can be quite laddish,” laughs Gerrard. “Some of us go to bed at 9.30pm with a cup of tea.

“Edward is very good at choosing his cast on personalities. When everyone is on the same level it makes for a more rounded production.”