PAUL Taylor-Mills is making his York Shakespeare Project debut at the helm of Much Ado About Nothing, a production he is setting in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in rural Yorkshire in 1945.

This, however, tells only a smidgeon of the story of the Birmingham-born director.

“I’ve been combining four projects,” he says, when York Twenty4Seven asked why he was on the end of a phone line in London rather than in York earlier this week.

“I was assisting Cameron Mackintosh for a year, starting in January 2010, as his assistant on Hair and Les Miserables at the O2 Arena, and had an absolutely wonderful time but I got itchy feet and took the plunge to go freelance,” says Paul.

“This year I’ve done Kander and Ebb’s Steel at the Bridewell Theatre, which ran in February, and straight after that I did the London revival of Little Shop Of Horrors at the White Bear, in April, which has been nominated for three Off-West End Awards.

“The ceremony is next January, and I’ve been nominated for best director so I’m in a category with Sir Trevor Nunn!”

Anything else, Paul? “Now, in London, I’m preparing the European premiere of My Big Gay Italian Wedding, which will open at the Above The Stag, in Victoria, go up to the Edinburgh Fringe in August and come back to London at the White Bear after that,” he says.

“The show’s been running off-Broadway for four years now and I came across the script at the Tonys last year when I was there with Cameron, and I just thought it was a really strong title!

Sometimes things don’t live up to a title but this show is very fluffy, it’s a great romp and it should go down well with the pink pound in Edinburgh!”

So, what attracted you to doing a community production of Much Ado Nothing in Rowntree Park, York? “Well, I saw the advert in The Stage and first and foremost it’s been a while since I’ve done any Shakespeare,” says Paul.

“The last one I did was The Comedy Of Errors on tour in North America on 2008 as soon as I’d graduated from a degree in directing at Bath Spa University.

“So I came up for the interview in York and did a brief staged rehearsal where I gave examples of how I work and I got an email saying they would love me to do it.”

How he is doing it is distinctly eye-catching. Shakespeare’s tale of soon-to-be-married lovers Claudio and Hero conspiring with Don Pedro to set a lover’s trap for the resolutely unmarried Benedick and Beatrice will be performed in the open-air with songs from the golden post-war era and period dance numbers.

“It might not have been a popular choice the way I’ve chosen to do it as York Shakespeare Project like things to be pure but in 2011 in a park I think you have to do something more than just a pure production,” says Paul. Clearly, the YSP forefathers agreed.

“It had to be something exciting for me to come up from London for the past two months! Something that not only keeps me excited but keeps an audience engaged outdoors, so I’ve encouraged the cast to work with any distractions in the park!”

There was a further incentive to direct this production: until the end of 2012, YSP is participating in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages initiative, one of the RSC’s contribution to the Cultural Olympiad. As part of this initiative, the cast will travel to Stratford-upon-Avon in July, where they will perform Much Ado About Nothing at the RSC’s outdoor stage, The Dell.

“The actors have to learn a skill to partake in the Open Stages competition, and as my background is in musical theatre, I’ve brought in the songs and dancing. I’ve had the two Jodies with me who worked on Little Shop Of Horrors – Jodie-Lee Wilde and Jodie Oliver – coming up from London to work on the choreography and singing. Some of the cast were petrified but they’ve learnt to sing and dance!” says Paul.

Paul is no newcomer to open-air theatre shows, having directed a site-specific Hamlet by a lake in Bath and Blue Remembered Hills in a park in the same city. “I learnt how important it is to acknowledge that you’re playing outside. That’s the exciting thing. When unexpected things happen, you make a feature of it, instead of ignoring it, and that requires courage from the cast!” he says.

Courage, yes, but Much Ado promises to be fun for Paul’s cast. “There’s mischief, naughtiness and fruitiness in this play,” he says. “We’re embracing the Forties’ style! All the men are in soldiers’ uniforms and we’ve really gone to town on the girls’ costumes, because we’re just using the natural amphitheatre for the staging. The trees and bushes offer all sorts of possibilities for mischief!” Why set it in 1945, Paul? “By placing the piece firmly at the end of World War Two I aim to heighten the themes of desire and passion which run through the play," he reasons. "Thanks to the years of war and hardship, there’s a natural sense of life being more precious, and this sense of urgency between the male and female characters fuels their passions.”

It should be hot stuff. Bring a picnic…and a fan.

• York Shakespeare Project’s Much Ado About Nothing runs in Rowntree Park, York, from June 29 to July 3 and July 6 to 9 at 7.30pm plus 2.30pm Saturday matinees. Tickets: £9, concessions £7, on 01904 623568 and on the door.