Shakespeare Magazine 04

Welcome!e whole point of this magazine is that William Shakespeare belongs to the world. London, however, will always feel like a city with a special claim to ownership of the Bard.

to Issue 4 of Shakespeare Magazine

Welcome!

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He wasn’t born there, of course – take a bow, Stratford-upon-Avon. But it’s in England’s capital city that he !rst made his name as a bloke who could “bombast out a blank verse”, to quote Robert Greene’s infamous literary put-down. Four centuries later, London is the world’s favourite mega-city and Shakespeare is the world’s favourite mega-poet. “How could it possibly be otherwise?” you’ll doubtless be thinking. If you’ve ever lived in London, that is.

And so, this issue we’re celebrating Shakespeare and London. Our cover, you’ll have noticed, features three present-day Shakespeare stars who’ve been known to set the city alight. Tom Hiddleston (who played Coriolanus earlier this year), Benedict Cumberbatch (whose Hamlet is next year’s hottest ticket) and Martin Freeman (whose Richard III was the sensation of the summer).

Enjoy your magazine.

Pat Reid, Founder & Editor

ContentsShakespeare Magazine

Issue FourSeptember 2014

Founder & Editor Pat Reid

Art Editor Paul McIntyreStaff Writers

Brooke !omas (UK)Mary Finch (US)

WritersZoe Bramley

Lauren O’HaraTom Phillips

Lis StarkeEmma Wheatley

Rose WynneChief Photographer

Piper WilliamsPhotographers

Emma LiuAlison Williams

IllustratorHannah FinchThank You

Mrs Mary ReidWeb design

David HammondsContact Us

[email protected]

facebook.com/ShakespeareMagazineTwitter

@UKShakespeareWebsite

www.shakespearemagazine.com

4 SHAKESPEARE magazine

“Walk with me about the town” 18A pictorial guide to some of London’s most walkable Shakespeare landmarks.

!e Measure Principle 24A troupe of London students turn Shakespeare into Bierkeller cabaret.

At last! A magazine with all the Will in the world

SHAKESPEARE

London Calling

Why the city that madeShakespeare

still rocks the world

Issue 4

Benedict Cumberbatch

Hamlet

Tom Hiddleston Coriolanus

Martin Freeman

Richard III London Calling 6England’s capital is in the throes of a Shakespeare Revolution. We report from the frontline.

In the mood for love 12Why London’s romantics are swooning over Shakespeare in Love - The Play.

London CallingWhy the city that

made Shakespeare still rocks the world...

Contents!


Shakespeare Girl, Interrupted 36Our resident Shakespearean master of disaster recounts her catalogue of woes.

Beats, Rhymes and Life 42Meet The Sonnet Man, a New York rapper who’s bringing Shakespeare to the people.

Go East! 50The world-spanning Shakespeare tour that is Globe To Globe Hamlet touches down in Kosova.

Marin County memories 46Celebrating 25 years of outdoor Shakespeare amid beautiful scenery.

!e Day of the Dauphin 30An audience with Edward Akrout, an actor who really made his mark in The Hollow Crown.

WIN! One of 5 copies of Shakespeare For Grown Ups – the rather brilliant new guide to all things Shakespeare. Simply send an email to us at [email protected] with ‘Grown Ups’ in the subject line. Don’t forget to include your name, address and contact number. Closing date is Friday 10 October. Good luck!

!Shakespeare in London


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London Calling

“Sound drums and trumpets, and to London all!”

Words: Brooke Thomas

“Josie Rourke’s Coriolanus saw Tom Hiddleston (of Avengers fame) playing the title roleto rapturous acclaim”

“Hello, is it me you’re Loki for?” Hiddleston’s hard-hitting Coriolanus.

hakespeare productions are selling out in record time, people are queuing around the block for a chance to see lesser-known history plays, and bright young theatre companies are adapting the plays in countless bizarre spaces, using up-to-the-minute theatrical techniques. Yes, we’re in the middle of a Shakespeare revolution, and in the year of his 450th birthday there’s no better place to experience the Bard than London.

White-hot young director Jamie Lloyd has certainly been savvy with his casting choices for the Trafalgar Transformed seasons. Last year, James McAvoy, Shameless star and X-Men’s Charles Xavier, starred in Lloyd’s dystopian Macbeth. !is year Martin Freeman, star of !e Hobbit and Watson in the phenomenally successful BBC drama Sherlock, takes on Richard III – box o"ce

Shakespeare in London!


London Calling



According to !e Telegraph, however, Zoe Wanamaker waded in to applaud Freeman for drawing people into the theatre for what might be their "rst time, and we’re on her side with this one – the more people that get to experience Shakespeare the better.

Back in London, the colourful headline “Bigger than Beyonce!” accompanies Benedict Cumberbatch’s beaming face in this month’s news. According to online ticket marketplace Viagogo there were 200% more searches for Hamlet tickets than for Beyonce and Jay Z’s On !e Run tour.

Cumberbatch has made his name playing complex, mercurial characters on stage and screen. Combined with his burgeoning popularity, this makes it no surprise that his Hamlet is being lauded as the most in-

meltdown ensued. Controversy raised its head at the beginning of Freeman’s run as Richard of Gloucester, though. His younger fans, drawn to the theatre by the popular actor, have reportedly been clapping and cheering at inappropriate moments, at odds with age-old theatre etiquette.

Veteran actress Maureen Lipman apparently sniped at Freeman’s popularity, commenting that “[the production is] not so much Richard III as Richard the rock concert” because of Freeman’s enthusiastic fans. It should be noted that the actors, director, and many other audience members have expressed surprise at these negative reports. Apparently very few people have noticed these rowdy teenage theatre goers at all, let alone been disturbed by them.

!e stars are "reCelebrity casting in major Shakespeare productions has proved a divisive issue in recent years. !is latest furore reminds us of 2008, when seventy-something polymath Johnathan Miller famously rubbished David Tennant’s casting as Hamlet. Miller allegedly referred to the actor (an RSC regular since 1996) as “that man from Doctor Who”, expressing concerns that people would go to see the play because “he is a television star.”

Shakespearean skulduggery: David Tennant as Hamlet.


demand show of all time. !e Sherlock star’s 2015 run of Hamlet at the Barbican has sold out, but as with the Trafalgar Transformed Richard III and other hot tickets of recent years, eminently a"ordable £10 and £15 tickets may be made available at a later date, thereby encouraging #rst time theatre goers even further.

Players well bestow’dA short stroll from the Barbican, through St Paul’s and across the Millennium Bridge, is Shakespeare’s Globe !eatre, where Lipman’s comments about cheering at the correct time would surely be laughed at.

!is summer’s revival of Lucy Bailey’s Titus Andronicus saw droves of fainters, blood-spattered groundlings and audiences being ordered to “MOVE” by intimidating performers. And the Globe isn’t an eccentric exception to stu"y Victorian-style theatre etiquette. Even if we only look at a fraction of this year’s output, London is bursting with innovative and immersive Shakespeare productions.

In Poplar, in London’s East End, an ambitious production of Macbeth by RIFT spans 12 hours and several $oors of a decaying tower block. Iris !eatre’s Richard

Shakespeare in London!Kill list: Martin Freeman’s Richard is a psychopathic military bureaucrat.

“A veteran actress sniped atFreeman’s popularity,referring to the productionas Richard the rock concert”



III took over !e Actors’ Church in Covent Garden with battle cries and hymns.

Another Titus Andronicus is due to take revenge in a multi-story car park in Peckham. And Phyllida Lloyd is launching Henry IV as part of a trilogy of all-female company productions at the Donmar Warehouse. !at same venue housed Josie Rourke’s Coriolanus early this year, with Tom Hiddleston (of Marvel Avengers Loki fame, and master of an even more formidable fanbase than the Sherlock boys) playing the title role to rapturous acclaim.

!rice Ninth’s Henry IV, Part 1 sees Shakespeare meet Shakira, performed over the bones of the Rose Playhouse at its Bankside archaeological site. And to top it all o", the stage adaptation of 1999 romcom Shakespeare in Love has kicked o" in the West End to rave reviews.

While Stratford-upon-Avon continues to weave its own magic, London is unquestionably the centre of Shakespearean creativity and innovation today. In fact, right now, it feels like the #rst, last and only place to be for fans of the Bard.

Handsome Hamlet: Benedict Cumberbatch is set to play

the melancholy Dane.

The sumptuous Shakespeare in Love (of which, more anon...)

!Shakespeare In Love


Words: Emma Wheatley

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love

London Calling

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Shakespeare In Love!


“Tom Bateman andLucy Briggs-Owenshone as Willand Viola.!eir chemistrywas fantastic”

“Whenever a well-loved film is adapted for the stage, you can’t help but be a little apprehensive about what they will do with it. Those doubts departed soon after curtain up, and I began to believe that Shakespeare in Love was in safe hands with director Declan Donnellan. The performance I saw was a preview, however, so changes may well happen both before and after the 23 July opening night.

In case you have never seen the 1999 Shakespeare in Love movie, the plot sees Will Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes), suffering from writer’s block, falling in love with his new muse, noblewoman Viola De Lessops (Gwyneth Paltrow). The story is interwoven with the writing and performing of Romeo

and Juliet. It also deals with how Elizabethan society viewed women in many aspects of life from marriage to careers.

“Yes, but Shakespeare in Love – The Play has remained fairly faithful to Tom Stoppard’s original screenplay with some great additional scenes thrown in that add to the story. Interestingly, Christopher Marlowe’s role is expanded from the film and is given the lines of minor characters that have been cut during the transition from screen to stage. This works pretty well at the beginning. However, as the play progresses it starts to look as if Marlowe has just been added in for the sake



The play’s ravishing Elizabethan visuals are likely to please Shakespeare fans.

When you’re young and in love: Viola (Lucy Briggs-

Owen) is Shakespeare’s inspiration for Juliet.



“Lucy Briggs-Owen played Viola with a rather more child-like quality than Gwyneth Paltrow, which suits the role well”



“Despite the addition of Marlowe to the balcony scene,I found myself mouthing along tothe lines from Romeo and Juliet”

of having him on stage. The recreation of the balcony scene, for instance, which should be romantic and full of passion, becomes a bit farcical with the addition of Marlowe. But I forgave it as, after a couple of lines had passed, I found myself mouthing the speeches along with the actors whenever they recited lines from Romeo and Juliet.”

“The cast worked well together and Tom Bateman and Lucy Briggs-Owen shone as Will and Viola. Their chemistry was fantastic for so early on in the run, and as they perform together more I can see it growing further. Bateman in particular was superb as Will, carrying scenes off effortlessly. Briggs-Owen played Viola with a rather more childlike quality than Gwyneth Paltrow did in the movie. Viola’s age is never given, but I always assumed she was supposed to be young. During the Shakespearean era women often married at a young age – just look at Juliet – so personally I felt this performance suits it well.”

“Special mention should go to Colin Ryan, playing Webster. He was such a great character who got many laughs during his scenes as the gore-obsessed youngster.”

“Worry not! The music is mostly incidental, for scene transitions and background music for scenes set at parties and within the theatre. The music remains faithful to the Elizabethan era and is performed impeccably by the band. The highlight for me came at the end of the show with the post-performance dance. It was choreographed perfectly and you could easily believe that it was once performed at court.

So is Shakespeare in Love – The

“All in all, the play was brilliant. To see the Shakespearean rehearsal process on stage intercut with the love story of Will and Viola was fascinating, especially to those that love all things Shakespeare. The set, costumes and music were spot-on, deftly transporting you back to the Tudor age. Whether you love Shakespeare’s works, the original movie – or just a classy bit of entertainment – Shakespeare in Love –The Play is a must-see.”

Shakespeare in Love – The Play at the Noel Coward Theatre, LondonFor more info: http://shakespeareinlove.com



Will’s world: it’s just a stage he’s going through.

!Shakespeare Walks


This suitably dramatic statue by the National Theatre (at Waterloo

Bridge) depicts Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet

confronting his father’s vengeful ghost.

Shakespeare Walks!


If you’ve been following our series of Shakespeare Walks,

we think you’ll like this. From our resident Tour Captain and

our Chief Photographer, here’s a pictorial guide to help

landmarks.

Words: Zoe BramleyPictures: Piper Williams

“Walk with me about the town...”

London Calling


!Shakespeare Walks

Top and left: The reconstructed Globe which opened in 1997. Shakespeare’s original burned down in 1613 during a performance of his play Henry VIII.

Right: Risen from the ashes of the 1666 Great Fire, the ‘new’ St Paul’s Cathedral dominates the view from Bankside.


Shakespeare Walks!

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be...” The site of the Bell Tavern. It was from here that Richard Quiney wrote to Shakespeare in 1598 requesting a loan.

The Cockpit at Blackfriars. The Tudor-era cellars below the pub are believed to have been part of

Shakespeare’s gatehouse.


!Shakespeare Walks

A peaceful garden is all that remains today of the Blackfriars Playhouse.

Ancient footings from the pre-Great Fire church.

Memorial to John Heminge and Henry Condell, compilers of the First Folio, at St Mary Aldermanbury.


Shakespeare Walks!

A pensive Shakespeare watches over the

garden at Leicester Square in the heart of

London’s West End.

Southwark Cathedral, where Shakespeare’s brother Edmund was buried in 1607. William paid for the ‘great bell’ to be tolled.

!King’s Shakespeare Company


King’s Shakespeare Company is London’s only studenttheatre company dedicated to the Bard. We witnessed theirsubterranean cabaret take on Measure for Measure onesweltering night at this summer’s Bristol Shakespeare Festival.

Words: Lauren O’Hara Pictures: Emma Liu

The Measure Principle

London Calling

King’s Shakespeare Company!


“Eyebrows were important. Our make-up artist had every

eyebrow shape stuck on a wall backstage. Here, Hannah Elsy models her Isabella brows.”Director Lauren

O’Hara (far left) writes: “A show

is nothing without its crew. Yes, our

Producer and Stage Manager were always

this smiley.”



“This was one of our favourite warm-up games – ‘Fireball!’ It involved lots of

concentrating and shouting (and laughing), which made sure that everyone was ready

for the performance each night.”

“As director, I felt it was important for there to be

enough time before each show for everyone to relax.”


King’s Shakespeare Company!

“Brows again. Shaped and oversized eyebrows helped to create character and ensured that expressions could be seen by all of the audience.”

“The set for the show was very simple.

All we had on stage were two chairs and a table, and we made a window and prison

bars using gobos.”

“Played by Ria Abbott, The Provost was the most heavily

made-up of the characters. She was made to look like an

authority.”

“The show featured original songs,

written and arranged by Henry Keynes

Carpenter.”



“Making sure that everyone was warmed-up, happy and ready to start the show was the main goal for me every evening.”

“Every costume was made up of black, white and red to symbolise corruption, virtue and lust.”

Intelligent.Cultured.Aspirational.


Alison Williams, 23 – Pennsylvania, USA

Shakespeare Magazine has readers all over the world.

They love reading, writing, thinking, talking and sharing.

and healthy living.

And they love to experience Shakespeare wherever they go.

Shakespeare Magazine is only three issues old.

But we already know our readers really are something special.

To advertise in Shakespeare Magazine, contact [email protected]

!Interview: Edward Akrout


British-French actor Edward Akrout brought a rare sensitivity tothe role of the villainous Dauphin in The Hollow Crown: Henry V.

Here, he talks about his cultured upbringing, his passion forShakespeare, and how acting is like being a musician...

Interview by Lis Starke and Rose Wynne

TheDay of

theDauphin

Interview: Edward Akrout!


“My grandmother can read Shakespeare in

perfect English, Molière in perfect French and

Goethe in perfect German. She taught me

the joy of words”

f you’ve seen The Hollow Crown: Henry V then you’ll doubtless remember actor Edward Akrout’s portrayal of Louis the Dauphin. Stage versions rarely allow us to see inside the heart of Henry V’s villain, but The Hollow Crown was different. As Louis, Edward conveyed all the scorn and contempt expected of the role, but also embodied the heavy weight of impending battle and the heartbreak of defeat and personal loss. It was a performance that saw the French-born actor winning over Shakespeare fans in England and beyond – one that even made us feel sympathy for the Dauphin’s fate at the Battle of Agincourt.

Born in Paris to a British-Franco mother and a Tunisian father, Edward can truly claim to be a man of the world. He lived in several different countries while growing up, studied philosophy at the Sorbonne in Paris and trained in acting at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He graduated in 2008 and four years later, in the Cultural Olympiad year of 2012, he joined the cast of The Hollow Crown.

When did you decide to pursue acting as a career?“When I was a child my uncle, who was an artist, made me discover how to grow up without ever stopping playing. He made me discover painting and acting.” How was your experience training at LAMDA?“It was wonderful because I was completely new to London and LAMDA became like

my family. I have made wonderful friends there and we are still very much in touch. It was such an immersive introduction to British culture, history and literature that it made me British by adoption. The training itself transforms you, your body and your mind. You learn a technique that becomes so deeply ingrained in you that you carry it then for the rest of your life.” What was the first exposure you had to Shakespeare? Did you enjoy his work right away or grow to enjoy it over time?“I think my first exposure was Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V. At first, like any boy, I watched it to see the fight scenes, I wanted to become a knight then. But then I felt more goose bumps listening to his pre-battle speech than by the battle itself. It was like nothing I ever experienced before, I was thrilled and moved by language.” What was the first production of Shakespeare you were in?“At LAMDA I was very lucky to play Richard III, directed by Aaron Mullen, one of my dream parts. It was a real rush. It made me an addict. It’s the closest feeling there is to being a musician. You learn the part and then you play it. The language itself tells you what to do.” Did you have any mentors that helped you appreciate and learn about Shakespeare’s language and stories?“Yes, my grandmother. She is a born actress but never pursued a career. She can read Shakespeare in perfect English, Molière in perfect French and Goethe in perfect German. She taught me the joy one can find and share with words.”



“It’s the closest feeling there is to being a musician. You learn the part and then you play it. !e language itself tells you what to do.”

Charles (Lambert Wilson), the

troubled French

by his son the Dauphin and

Montjoy (Jérémie Covillault, right).



Watch this face: Edward has hinted at a big Shakespeare role coming his way in the near future.



How did you first hear about The Hollow Crown? Were you asked to audition?“I remember there were a few rounds of auditions and I eventually met Thea Sharrock. I was so happy when I got the news. On the first day we had a reading with the whole cast. I was trying to hide as much as I could but I was just in awe of all the actors sitting at that table. John Hurt, Richard Griffiths, Anton Lesser, Paterson Joseph, Tom Hiddleston, Lambert Wilson. I was a big fan of all them and couldn’t actually believe I was sitting at the same table with them. How was it working with Thea as director and Tom as lead actor?“Thea was wonderful. Very helpful and very passionate about her work. Richard Griffiths was so sweet, he used to call her ‘Mum’ on set. They were very close and worked many times together. Tom is a great actor but also a wonderful company leader. He really fuelled the entire set with his energy, and inspired everyone to give their best. He was very much like Henry V himself.” How did you feel about some of the Dauphin’s great lines being cut from the final version of Henry V?“It’s always a hard decision to make but you can’t keep everything. Thea has a real love for the play, the language and all the characters. I knew straight away that if she cut something it was always for the benefit of the story.” They say history is written by the victors of a war. As a Frenchman, how do you feel about how the French are portrayed by Shakespeare in Henry V?“Originally those parts were very satirical. They are almost supposed to be funny. Thea wanted to show the atrocity of war, and made

all the French parts real. That is also why some lines had to go.” Do you have any humorous stories from the set of The Hollow Crown?“Driving to the set in the back of a Land Rover on a bumpy road with both Stanley Weber and I crashing into each other in our full armour. It doesn’t get any funnier than that.” You had some fantastic costumes for Henry V. Do you have any favourites? How much does the costume influence how you play a character or a scene?“My favourite was the full armour with the sword, of course. I always dreamt to have one as a kid. No acting is required then. You don’t need to gild the lily.” What upcoming projects do you have for our readers to look forward to?“I have two films coming out next year – Sword of Vengeance, where I get to act with my cousin of Orleans (Stanley Weber) again, and also The Devil’s Harvest. Deadly Virtues is coming out this August during the FrightFest in Leicester Square. I also joined the cast of Mr. Selfridge recently, which will air in January.” Is there a dream Shakespeare role you’d like to take on one day?“My dream part is coming in my direction, and I will very soon let you know more...”

Find Edward on Twitter: @EdwardAkroutMore from Lis and Rose: @HollowCrownFanswww.hollowcrownfans.com



“Tom Hiddleston is a great actor but also a wonderful company leader. He was very much like Henry V himself.”

!Girl, interrupted


CFor our US Staff Writer Mary Finch, writing about Shakespeare is the easy bit. Getting through a Shakespeare performance without being struck by some form of disaster is quite another matter...

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“Our fellow audience members were kind enough not to chase us from the theatre with pitchforks, but it seems that this faux pas has tainted my luck with Shakespeare”

Bryn Mawr. Or, as we like to call it, ‘Shakespeare

Calamity Town’.C Now, seven years later, even though I have adopted the habit of silencing my phone, turning it o! and even removing the battery, the Shakespeare gremlins still "nd ingenious ways to delay or derail almost any production I have the nerve to attend.

You think I’m exaggerating? Let’s examine the evidence. Since Richard II last December, of the six Shakespeare productions I have seen, half of them have been tragically interrupted through random bad luck, forces of nature or human error (generally my own). A shockingly high failure rate, I think you’ll agree.

ast your mind back to Issue 2 of Shakespeare Magazine and the epic challenges that befell me while attempting to see David Tennant’s Richard II at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute.#e combination of bad weather and the unfamiliarity of Bryn Mawr led to a perfect storm of panic and chaos, coupled with the threat of missing our "nal exams the next day. Not to mention the (much worse) threat of missing our chance to see Richard II.

It all worked out "ne in the end, and I certainly hoped such complications would be a rare occurrence in my future Shakespearean adventures. Instead, they seem to have become a de"ning characteristic.

However, my bad luck with Shakespeare goes further back than last winter. #e "rst Shakespeare performance I ever saw, at the age of 14, was Hamlet. On an impulse, my mother and I went to New York City’s free Shakespeare in the Park. Despite most of the language going over my head, and the story being rather confusing, I loved it. #e tension when Hamlet started “To be, or not to be” was tangible, the crowd was reverently hushed… and then my mother’s mobile phone rang.

Our fellow audience members were kind enough not to chase us from the theatre with pitchforks, but it seems that this unpardonable faux pas has tainted my luck with Shakespeare.

Girl, interrupted!


!Girl, interrupted


hours’ tra!c” of the drive back home. "is time the dreary landscape matched our mood perfectly.

We did go to the rescheduled showing the next weekend, but I got lost on the way and missed the #rst half-hour. Although I had just enough luck to arrive right at the start of the #ght between Au#dius and Coriolanus at Corioli. So to borrow from the Bard, I guess “All’s well that ends well.”

Antony & CleopatraIf all my other Shakespeare adventures went smoothly, I could easily attribute our misfortune to ‘"e Curse of Bryn Mawr’. But when Alison and I then attempted to see the Harrisburg Shakespeare production of Antony & Cleopatra, events took yet another disastrous turn.

Alison arrived early, reserving a patch of grass front and centre. I too arrived on time and without complications, but our good fortune did not last the night. "e problem this time was not a lack of electricity, but too much of it. As the actors declaimed their

CoriolanusOur disaster with the public transit of Bryn Mawr should have taught us a lesson, but Alison (my intrepid fellow Shakespeare enthusiast) and I don’t scare easily. So a few months later we again drove two hours, this time to see Donmar Warehouse’s Coriolanus featuring Tom Hiddleston. "e countryside, which consists of pleasant Amish farms and wooded hills, was hidden under several feet of snow, but anticipation of the production made the lengthy drive seem inconsequential.

As we walked towards the cinema through the charming downtown (panic had obstructed our view last time), the ease of the trip seemed too good to be true. And indeed it was. For as we were about to walk inside, these words stopped us in our Hiddlestonian tracks: “I’m sorry, but we have lost power and have to cancel the screening.”

After an hour of desperately waiting, Alison and I got back in the car for the “two-

“!e storm also continued to roll in, adding drama to the action by illuminating the sky with lightning and threatening to drown out the actors’ voices with thunder”


opening lines, ominous rolls of thunder sounded in the distance.

!e company continued under the metallic amphitheatre without hesitation – the show must go on! !e storm also continued to roll in, adding drama to the action by illuminating the sky with lightning and threatening to drown out the actors’ voices with thunder. Eventually, the rain began lightly and then less lightly. Fifteen minutes into the second act, as Antony lost the battle due to Cleopatra’s retreat, the director called “Hold!” and Alison and I groaned from under our umbrellas.

King LearWhile those mishaps were out of my control, sometimes I can only blame myself.

!is summer, Harrisburg’s independent Midtown Cinema began showing NT Live screenings, starting with !e National !eatre’s King Lear. Alison and I were especially joyful as this meant no more trips to Bryn Mawr!

While I still didn’t have a car, I found another way to get to the theatre. Once I

Girl, interrupted!

Alison (left) and Mary: proving cars

and Shakespeare don’t mix.

!Girl, interrupted


arrived at the theatre, I let Alison know what time to pick me up (she could not join me this time due to work).

I enjoyed the !rst half without concern, until during the intermission I checked the clock and realized that, as a typical student of words rather than numbers, I had told Alison the wrong time to pick me up – about half an hour early. So, just as Cordelia was reunited with her father, I found myself sheepishly sneaking out the door.

Of course, for each of these tales of woe I have glorious stories of seeing Shakespeare uninterrupted – 50 percent failure entails 50 percent success, right? In Washington DC, Alison and I sat within the !rst three rows and the actors nearly spit on us for the entirety of Henry IV, Part 1 (spittle and all it was magni!cent!). We made it back to Bryn Mawr to see Rory Kinnear as Hamlet and everything went perfectly. I dragged my entire family to see a screening of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Henry IV, Part 1 and they all stayed awake and enjoyed the entire experience.

No, I certainly won’t let my series of Shakespeare !ascos deter me. I have learned to always double check websites to make sure the venue hasn’t lost power, to pack an extra umbrella even if the weather forecast is clear, and to have someone else calculate when the show will be over. And if the Shakespeare curse still manages to strike, at least I will have a few good stories to share.

As that great American movie icon Forrest Gump once said, “Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get”. Some days you drive four hours through snow without any reward. Other days you end up with the best seat in the house. "at’s Shakespeare for you.

“I had told Alison the wrong time to

pick me up. So, just as Cordelia was

reunited with her father, I found myself

sheepishly sneaking out the door”

The loneliness of the long-distance Shakespeare fan.

Meet thy makers...

Brooke Thomas Our UK Staff Writer is a

post-graduate student of Shakespeare in her early twenties. She learnt to

love the Bard during her BA at Royal Holloway, University of London,

and is currently a researcher at Shakespeare’s Globe. Brooke also

writes fiction and hosts a short story competition called #SmallTales on Twitter. Her days off consist of tea,

cake, and Doctor Who. You can find her at www.literarygeek.co.uk.

Mary Finch Our US Staff Writer is in her fourth year studying English

at Messiah College in central Pennsylvania. Will first grabbed her attention in secondary school and

hasn’t let go since – she reads, recites and watches Shakespeare whenever possible. Besides going on irrational adventures to see performances with her friend Alison, Mary also has a

passion for swing dancing, dabbling in calligraphy and tending to her ever-growing window garden of

succulents.

Lis Starke and Rose Wynne jointly run the fan group Hollow Crown Fans, which celebrates the BBC series, its cast, and all things Shakespeare. They are committed to bringing Shakespeare into the realm of pop culture. Rose hails

from Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom and Lis from Chicago in

the United States. They can be found on Twitter @HollowCrownFans and www.hollowcrownfans.com is their

new website.

Hannah Finch As a little girl, Hannah enjoyed taking ballet classes, playing outdoors, colouring pictures, and planning parties. Today, she is still a little girl, standing a proud

5! "#. Professionally, she is an event planner, concert dance artist, and designer. She enjoys exploring Colorado’s Rocky Mountains and

travelling. She loves Shakespeare as a result of her sister’s infectious passion for his works (and insistence that they

watch productions together).

Lauren O’Hara is in her final year of

studying English at King’s College London and is President of the King’s Shakespeare Company. This year she has directed an

all-male Twelfth Night and a cabaret version of Measure for Measure (for

Bristol Shakespeare Festival). She wants to pursue directing as a career

and is currently working on two original scripts.

Just some of the contributors to this issue of Shakespeare Magazine

!Contributors

Piper Williams Our Chief Photographer hails from Portland,

Oregon, now working out of Surrey. A freelance fashion and

portrait photographer, he spends his days time-travelling via historical

docudramas, silent films and vintage radio broadcasts. These adventures

are a catalyst for his imagery and his wardrobe. His current project, 1928, is a modern take on the Jazz and War age aesthetic. Also in the works is a Steam, Diesel and Cosplay-inspired series of Shakespearean characters.


How did you first get into Shakespeare?“I became interested in the work of William Shakespeare after I assisted a high school teacher understand Othello. While reading the play aloud, I realised that a lot of his work could be said in rhythm. Also, a few lines in his play rhymed. A friend and I transcribed Shakespeare’s words to hip-hop music in order to give the students a better understanding of what the Bard was saying.”

How was the show, The Sonnet Man, concieved?“The idea to combine Shakespeare’s words with hip-hop came after meeting playwright Arje Shaw. I compared Shakespeare’s sonnets of 14 lines to a standard hip-hop verse of 16 lines, which also use the same language as his plays. We believed The Sonnet Man would be a cool way to introduce students to Shakespeare.”

Besides the rhythm, is there anything else you think Shakespeare’s poetry and plays have in common with modern-day hip-hop and rap?“The usage of poetic language – metaphors, similes, alliteration – are very common in Shakespeare’s poetry, and in hip-hop. He created a lot of words and terms that rappers use today in their works. He also wrote with a lot of emotion – left it all out there.”

Why do you think the show has resonated with so many people, especially the young?“The Sonnet Man bridges the gap with so many categories. It connects fans of hip-hop to Shakespeare and vice versa. I believe the beauty of the language speaks for itself. With hip-hop rising rapidly as one of the top genres of music to children, this is sort of like the new version of Schoolhouse Rock.


!Interview: The Sonnet Man

Velvet-voiced New York rapper Devon Glover fronts The Sonnet Man, a Shakespeare show with a fresh and funky new take on the Bard. With plans to tour the US, Canada and UK, Devon laid out his iambic manifesto for us...

Interview by Mary Finch

Beats, Rhymes and Life

“My goals are to present Shakespeare in a way people haven’t seen before, to open more people to Shakespeare, and to inspire students to keep writing so they can become the next Shakespeare”

In his Sonnet Man persona, Devon

Glover channels the spirit of Shakespeare.


Interview: The Sonnet Man!

Devon hangs out with young fans at New York’s Student Shakespeare Festival.


!Interview: The Sonnet Man

“Shakespeare is beloved by people of all ages, and it’s never too late to be a student of his work”

Plus, it’s done without editing Shakespeare’s words, which is pleasing to Shakespeareans, and opens them to a world of music some wouldn’t hear in the theatre.”

What do you hope to achieve through your performances?“My goals when I perform are to present the work of Shakespeare in a way that people haven’t seen before, to open more people to the words of Shakespeare, to inspire students to keep writing so they can become the next Shakespeare, to tell people of all ages to never give up on their dreams.”

How do people react when you perform?“I receive lots of great reactions. People who come to The Sonnet Man show for the first time are always skeptical, but leave with a better understanding of Shakespeare and hip-hop. The audience is always surprised to

hear Shakespeare’s words being rapped. The group that is surprised the most are the true Shakespeareans, who know Shakespeare’s words by heart. They actually rap along.

“I have been surprised by the popularity of The Sonnet Man. This project was first made to reach out to students. However, Shakespeare is beloved by people of all ages, and it’s never too late to be a student of his work.”

Do you have a favourite sonnet?“Ah, I have a few of them. If I had to choose one I would pick Sonnet 130. It contains many elements that I look for in an actual hip-hop song – metaphor, comedy, rhythm and rhyme, imagery, plus it’s written like a parody. With all the jokes in the sonnet, it still has a great meaning – I still love you, even with all of your flaws. In our time we use the word ‘mistress’ in an unappealing way. I believe Shakespeare was more endearing.”

Why do you think Shakespeare has remained so popular for so long, and to such a diverse range of people – from scholars to hip-hop artists to stage actors?“The impact of his plays is the reason why they have been reinvented so many times. Even though they were written in different times, the themes of his works are still relatable to the world today. He’s one of the only writers that resonate with people of all languages and cultures. Also, the story of Shakespeare has always been intriguing. Even with all the research, there still feels like there are a few stones unturned.”

A lot of people – especially children exposed to Shakespeare through school – think they don’t like Shakespeare or can’t understand him. Why do you think this is?“I believe one of the reasons is the way it’s taught. To introduce students to Shakespeare by handing them a book could be a bit too much at times. When I was introduced to Shakespeare, we just read it. I believe his work

should be seen also, with an activity or two to go along with his work. Also, the evolution of language attributes to why students can’t seem to understand them.”

Why do you think studying Shakespeare is still important today for students?“I believe Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers who ever lived, who contributed so much to the way we speak today. To understand his work at a younger age will work wonders for later on in life. Language is the key to success.”

More from www.thesonnetmannyc.com


Interview: The Sonnet Man!“!e themes of his works are still relatable to the world today. He’s one of the only writers that resonate with people of all languages and cultures”

Devon is an ambassador for both Shakespeare and hip-hop.

Thanks to Devon, these youngsters are fully sonnet-savvy.

California’s Marin County is known for musicians, movie stars, hippies and outstanding natural beauty. It also has an

open-air Shakespeare festival, one that's celebrating its silver

Back in 1989, a group of theatre fans in Northern California’s picturesque Marin County set out to revive the local Shakespeare festival. They had the perfect outdoor summer venue in Dominican College’s Forest Meadows Amphitheatre – now they just needed the right team. An enterprising theatrical couple named Robert and Lesley Currier were duly hired. Relocating to Marin County, the Curriers quickly threw themselves into a fundraising campaign. Marin Shakespeare Company’s first production, As You Like It, was unveiled the following summer. Starring San Francisco actress Nancy Carlin as Rosalind, it was a galloping success.

“In 1989 gasoline cost around a dollar a gallon, a US postage stamp cost 25 cents and we had never heard of the internet,” says Lesley. “We had a Mac Plus computer, a dot matrix printer and a lot of youthful goodwill and enthusiasm.”

Apart from primitive technology, the Company also had nature to contend with. Indeed, their debut production was almost

scuppered by an earthquake. “Everyone told us we should forget trying to do a show in 1990,” says Robert who, needless to say, ignored the advice. This early adversity instilled an ethos of “the show must go on” that endures to this day in the face of blackouts, smoke and ash from grass fires, bee stings, poison oak and wildly variable weather. Not to mention on-stage cameos by various woodland creatures.

The Company’s 25th anniversary celebrations were already underway when, sensationally, they received an anonymous donation of one million dollars. “We are thrilled,” says Lesley, who describes the gift as “transformational”. Some of the money has already been put to good use with the installation of a new microphone system. But the Company still has an agreeably old school approach to its take on Shakespeare. “There have been tremendous technical advances,” Robert says. “Today everything is digital. But we still have to build our stage every year, put up light towers and build the dressing rooms.”

!Diary: Marin County


Robert and Lesley Currier with their young son Jackson at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre, 1990.

Diary: Marin County!


Two decades later, little Jackson Currier is now the strapping young actor pictured here as Mercutio (left, with Teddy Spencer as Tybalt) in this year’s production of Romeo and Juliet. Jackson also acts as set designer. Photo: Eric Chazankin

In 1992, Robert directed The Comedy of Errors, with Jim McKie’s elaborate set design representing the Turkish city of Ephesus. The

reported that the comic escapades had the audience “howling uncontrollably” with laughter.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream was

season in 1994. It featured members of San Francisco’s renowned Pickle Family Circus, including Diane Wasnak, seen here as Puck.

!Diary: Marin County


Marin County’s majestic Mount Tamalpais, viewed from Forest Meadows Amphitheare, the Company’s outdoor theatre venue. Photo: Eric Chazankin

A scene from MSC’s 2001 production of Hamlet. The Company staged one summer

years and two for its second

staged three productions from July to September.

Along with Marin Shakespeare’s Suraya Keating, Lesley gives weekly Shakespeare classes at the infamous San Quentin State Prison, which is also in Marin County. Apart from giving an annual performance of a Shakespeare play, San Quentin students also write and perform autobiographical pieces inspired by Shakespeare. The picture shows 2012’s Hamlet at San Quentin.

A triumphant King John (Scott Coopwood) and The Bastard (Erik MacRay) in 2012’s production of King John.Photo: Eric Chazankin

As You Like It, August 2014. Thanks to a million-dollar gift from an anonymous donor, all tickets to the production were ‘Pay As You Like It’ with any amount accepted at the door.Photo: Eric Chazankin

Diary: Marin County!


A recent pic of Robert and Lesley Currier, along with the guy who started it all, William Shakespeare.Photo: StevenUnderwood

The Marin Shakespeare Company venue at Forest Meadows Amphitheatre. Built in 1973, it was designed so that when the moon is full it rises directly above the actors.

Robert and Lesley’s psychedelic adaptation of Twelfth Night or All You Need is Love. Opening the Company’s 20th Season, it transported audiences back to the swinging ’60s and the Summer of Love.Photo: Morgan Cowin

Lesley Currier as Audrey with John Furse as Touchstone from Marin Shakespeare’s

As You Like It in 1990. Previously Lesley spent three years with the Ukiah Players in California. She also acted at Ashland’s Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Lesley applying make-up backstage in 2003. She stepped into the role of Puck after Diane Wasnak (reprising her critically-acclaimed 1994 appearance) fell ill. “A few days before our opening, Diane missed a rehearsal due to a stomach ache,” says

However, when Diane had to be admitted to hospital, Lesley realised she would have to play Puck herself. Beyond learning the lines, this physically-demanding role involved working with Diane’s circus dog, Bonzer.

workout... a great deal of concentration and willpower. I ended up performing in eight shows. Diane returned, much to everyone’s delight. But we had proven the show must go on.”Photo: Kim Taylor

More from www.marinshakespeare.org

The performance was due to start at 8pm, but seeing as the man insisting that we all had another glass of raki before we went in was the director of the

National Theatre, it didn’t seem to matter that we were amongst the many people still milling around outside the venue ten minutes after the curtain was due to go up.

Across the square, kids were jumping through the hiccupping fountains, someone was trying to snap a photo which took in both the statue of a medieval warrior on a horse and the towering steel-and-glass


!Hamlet in Kosova

The Globe are taking Hamlet to every country in the world –

including this memorable and

Balkan state of Kosova.

Words: Tom PhillipsPhotos: Bronwen Sharp

Go East!We weren’t able to get hold of images from the actual Kosova performance, but these pictures

by Bronwen do an excellent job in conveying the production’s verve and excitement.

skyscraper behind while, draped in political colours, a group of men were sitting outside a bar yelling ‘Rambo! Rambo!’ The results of the general election remained undecided. On the steps of the National Theatre in Prishtina, banners announced that The Globe’s touring production of Hamlet was in Kosova as part of its project to visit every country in the world. Tickets were five Euro apiece and the theatre was sold out.

Shakespeare’s no stranger in South East Europe. He may not have been thinking of the Balkans when he set Twelfth Night in Illyria, but that was the ancient name of a


Hamlet in Kosova!

Amanda Wilkin as Osric (left) and Naeem Hayat as Hamlet.

nation which – depending on who you talk to – stretched from the Adriatic coast of Albania to parts of Macedonia, Greece, Montenegro and Croatia. And even though his geographical knowledge may well have been dubious at best (that famous sea-coast of Bohemia), the plays themselves continue to exert a fascination across East and South East Europe.

In communist times, Macbeth proved singularly popular with renowned Albanian writer Ismail Kadare. Presumably its forensic examination of the mechanics of tyranny offered some hope that Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha’s repressive regime wasn’t wholly

unique and might well, like Macbeth’s, plunge into self-destruction. And it’s still popular now, possibly because, nearly 25 years after the Berlin Wall came down, the political landscape in parts of SE Europe still bears more than a passing resemblance to the cynically despotic regime depicted in the Scottish play.

At the other extreme, A Midsummer Night’s Dream also seems to be a favourite – over the last year or so, I’ve narrowly missed productions of it in both Tirana and Dubrovnik – while, in Kosova, recent productions include the endlessly tangled

Love’s Labour’s Lost, translated and directed by Ben Apolloni. “Yes, the language itself was a bit tricky,” he says, laconically, “but people seemed to enjoy it.”

The Globe’s Hamlet has attracted the great and good from both Prishtina’s indigenous elite and the copious ex-pat community. I tip-toe down a row of people to find my seat, muttering ‘Me fal, me fal’, only to discover that the people I’m apologising to are all embassy staff and employees of EULEX, KFOR, OSCE and other mysterious international bodies.

My Kosovan friends are six or seven


!Hamlet in Kosova

Keith Bartlett as Old Hamlet (left) and Jennifer Leong as Ophelia.

“When Hamlet !ings out the question ‘Am I a coward?’ someone shouts back ‘Yes!’ in a distinctly Kosovan accent”


rows back – a handful of playwrights and directors spread out amongst bureaucrats and diplomats. Early on, when Hamlet himself flings out the question “Am I a coward?” and someone shouts back “Yes!” in a distinctly Kosovan accent, it’s a shame that this turns out to be a set-up.

It’s a tough call, producing a version of Hamlet which, despite language difficulties, might be understood by audiences in every country of the world. Director Dominic Dromgoole’s done a good job, and while this is almost certainly the cheeriest version of Hamlet I’ve ever seen, the music, the

ensemble playing, the clothes-peg, DIY feel of the whole production transmits a freshness that clearly goes down well in Kosova. It’s not, perhaps, the deepest investigation of the play’s psychological complexities, but, much in the style of the BBC’s mission statement, it informs, it educates, it entertains.

Acting-wise, I can’t name names because there isn’t a programme, but individual performances aren’t really the point – even Hamlet’s. This is a production which thrives on its collective energy, on putting across the passion of the story even if that means glossing over some of the nuances. It’s about

Hamlet in Kosova!

Laertes (Tom Lawrence) and Hamlet (Ladi Emeruwa) test each other’s mettle.

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putting Shakespeare out there and proving that, as a playwright, one of his greatest strengths is that his scripts can survive whatever treatment might be necessary. Presumably, that’s because he wrote them in the rough-and-tumble, the hurly-burly of real-life Renaissance theatre.

In Prishtina, the reaction’s intriguingly poised. In the aftermath, we mill around the foyer, drinking glasses of wine. The British Ambassador goes through the glad-handing thing, while the rest of us make the most of proffered things-on-sticks and the generous free bar.

Two Kosovan theatre directors acknowledge the importance of a British company visiting their partially recognised country, but have questions about what they’ve just seen. What about the tragedy? What about Ophelia? Is this what most contemporary productions of Shakespeare in Britain are like?

Perhaps the most interesting suggestion is that, had The Globe not been parachuted in and had instead been given time to work with local directors, writers and actors, it might have been possible to explore connections between Hamlet and traditional Kosovan and Albanian stories. Maybe that’s


John Dougall as Claudius.

!Hamlet in Kosova

“While this is the cheeriest version of Hamlet I’ve ever seen, the production transmits a freshness that clearly goes down well in Kosova”


Ladi Emeruwa (left) alternates the role of Hamlet with Naeem Hayat.

Right: Miranda Foster as Gertrude.

something for the future – rather than simply turning up and staging Shakespeare, a more long-term, collaborative approach might yield impressive results.

On the night, of course, much of this is relegated to ‘items for future discussion’. Some of us turn in – others choose to ignore Polonius’s unimaginative advice to be sane and mediocre, and instead hit the town. According to reports the following day, the party goes on until four in the morning. Hamlet has been a hit, but with a proviso. Theatre-makers in Kosova really appreciate visiting British companies and the chance to

see new productions, but that’s only the start of the story.

Climbing onto the bus for Montenegro, I get the feeling that, here, in South East Europe, there’s a whole hinterland of Shakespeare-related potential which still has to be properly explored.

Follow Globe to Globe Hamlethttp://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com

Hamlet in Kosova!

Next issueWe hope you’ve enjoyed Issue Four of Shakespeare Magazine.

We’ll be back next month with another shedload of Shakespeare shenanigans, including these...

Which witches?Madness, music and Macbeth with Filter Theatre.

!Don’t lose your headShakespeare and the Tower of London.

!American Shakespeare CenterWe take a Bard-themed road trip to Staunton, Virginia.

!If walls could talk...Staging Shakespeare in historical spaces.

!

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