AN ACTOR from Chippenham declared his love for his partner when he proposed to her at the end of one of his shows.

Oli Hounsell, 34, was performing with Wiltshire based theatre company Shakespeare Live on August 12 when he popped the question to his now fiancée Rachael Carey, 33, in front of the large crowd that gathered to watch their performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s open air theatre, at the Dell in Stratford-upon-Avon.

Mr Hounsell, of Goldney Avenue, Chippenham, had been talking about getting married to his partner Miss Carey, also of Goldney Avenue, for a few months, but knew he wanted to make a grand gesture when he finally asked her to be his wife.

So he decided that the most romantic gesture would be to propose at the end of the show.

“I put the idea to my fellow cast mates and they said do it, so towards the end of the act I had the ring around my necklace and performed with it,” he explained.

“I was on the stage, I wanted to take the ring off and show it to everybody.

“I walked the short distance to her in the crowd and asked her to confirm to everybody in the world she knows that I love her. I ran over to get her answer.

“I expressed my love and how she has supported me. I asked her to marry me and she said yes.

“It was such a lovely reaction, everyone around us was grinning like Cheshire cats.

“Rachael loved it and hated it!”

Shakespeare Live will be touring their performance of a clever and original adaptation of the Bottom scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream around Wiltshire in October.

Tickets are on sale for all five shows at St Margaret’s Hall, Bradford on Avon, The Mission Theatre, Bath, The Cause, Chippenham, The Pound, Corsham, and the Wharf Theatre, Devizes.

To find out more information and to book tickets visit www.shakespearelive.com or call 07780 938107.