This week British Shakespeare Company actor-manager Robert Williamson must have been grinding his teeth with anxiety.

Unbroken weather, perfect for evening outdoor performances of Shakespeare, coincided with a week off for his actors who next Tuesday are due to open the 12th Leeds Shakespeare Festival.

Meteorological matters are of great concern to Mr Williamson; a couple of years ago one of the wettest summers in living memory nearly drowned his business in debt.

Gale force winds and persistent rain drove away expected crowds from several venues and he found that he needed at least £50,000 just to keep his head above water.

Not for the first time he sold his house and his car anything to keep the show on the road and fortune eventually broke through the clouds and smiled upon his enterprise.

Norwegian shipping billionaire Petter Olsen heard about Mr Williamson's company reportedly one of the best in the al fresco Shakespeare business and invited them to his home. He even built a temporary amphitheatre in the grounds for a sell-out show.

A relieved Mr Williamson told Box Office: "We were invited to spend a week in Oslo. Tickets for the plays were sold out within three hours even though they were in English, which is not a first language over there.

"We got a lot of money for that. We need it because we are not a funded company; we are a commercial company and every penny goes back into our productions. We use a full cast of 17 professional actors in period Elizabethan costume, on a big stage with lighting and covered seating. It costs £25,000 just to put in 800 seats at Leeds. We expect to attract 15,000 over four weeks."

Now everything is bright and beautiful especially with the forecast of good weather throughout August.

This year the British Shakespeare Company is putting on Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Crowds will doubtless be coming out with their bottles of water, sun-blocker and picnics to Kirkstall Abbey, for Williamson has a good reputation; besides, this year he's got the son of Pierce Brosnan playing Romeo.

Sean B Brosnan, he says, can do the business, adding passion to a role that can seem a bit wimpish if played the wrong way.

"We have had celebrities in the past who have not been able to live up to the standards of Shakespeare that we expect. He (meaning Sean B) can. He has done three years at drama school and has the star quality of his father. He's had great reviews.

"Romeo can come across as a bit wet because he's always whining about love; but Sean has the charisma to carry that through. If you don't care about the character you can't draw people into the journey he has to make."

The cast also features Mina Anwar from BBC TV's Thin Blue Line and Wayne Sleep.

Robert Williamson comes from Leeds. He is devoted to the canon and can talk all day about the importance of putting on Shakespeare's plays in a beautiful natural environment.

"Recreating Shakespeare's work in a natural environment is part of the experience. Kirkstall Abbey is 1,000 years old. It's unique. Shakespeare's company used to tour in the summer, playing in the open air. Nature was very important to him.

"Do you know that there are 22,000 Shakespeare productions in Britain every year? In Japan there is a Shakespeare theme park. In Berlin they are building a Globe theatre in the no-man's land where the Wall used to be. In Rome they already have a Globe theatre that's bigger than the one in London.

"The Norwegians are spending £2m making a four-part documentary about his life and works. The British Shakespeare Company is playing the scenes from the plays. Shooting starts in January."

One question: When will he bring his company to Bradford?

"I would love to. We would need support from the local council, though, because we are not funded. I will make inquiries."

l The Leeds Shakespeare Festival at Kirkstall Abbey runs from July 25 to August 20. All evening performances start at 7.30pm; matinees at 3pm. The box office number is (0113) 224 3801. The 24-hour ticket hotline is 0870 906 3867.