Guildford Shakespeare Company: 18 years and counting

On my laptop screen from some 40 miles away, Matt Pinches settles into the costume cupboard of the Guildford Shakespeare Company (GSC). Behind and alongside him runs a rail of costumes – I spy some velvet – and in his cable-knit jumper and round glasses, he emits a certain cosiness. Yet within seconds, it becomes clear that he's absolutely alive with an almost frenetic energy – there is an infectious sense that he is capable of finding endless inspiration in the people and places around him.

It makes sense, therefore, that he is one of two cofounders of the GSC, whose main objective is to make Shakespeare as accessible as possible. Founded with Sarah Gobran 18 years ago, the GSC's site-responsive approach has, according to its website, ‘been the key to breaking down’ barriers many feel they face when it comes to theatre. Some of those barriers, Pinches tells me, might be financial, geographical or – most commonly – a perception that Shakespeare is simply too difficult to enjoy.