Shakespeare Magazine 01

At last! A magazine with all the Will in the world
SHAKESPEARE
Celebrating
450 years of the
English language’s
greatest-ever
wordsmith
Launch issue

Welcome
Welcome
Photo: David Hammonds
to the first issue of Shakespeare Magazine
Back in my teenage years, I was a bit of a Shakespeare
fan. Doing an English degree at Oxford, however,
was enough to firmly put me off literature for more
than two decades. But I could never quite shake
off my fascination for Shakespeare, and last year I
found myself attempting for the first time to read the
Complete Works.
It was a defining, exhilarating, life-changing experience, one which
also felt like a personal achievement – similar, I’d imagine, to climbing
a mountain or running your first marathon.
As a journalist, I instinctively looked for a magazine to enhance
my rekindled love of the Bard. And I was stunned to discover that
there wasn’t one.
So 12 months later, here I am with the very first issue of
Shakespeare Magazine, built from scratch by myself and Art Editor
Paul McIntyre, along with a team of contributors who have been
amazingly generous with their time and talent.
Shakespeare Magazine is free to absolutely anyone in the world
– although it would certainly help if you understand English, have
internet access and are interested in Shakespeare.
I’m thrilled to be launching Shakespeare Magazine in the week we
celebrate 450 years since the birth of the man himself. It’s yet another
testament to the enduring power and magic of his words.
I hasten to add that I’m absolutely not a Shakespeare expert or
any kind of authority. I’m just a humble journalist embarking on a
journey with Shakespeare. And you’re very warmly invited to join me.
Enjoy your magazine.
Pat Reid, Founder & Editor
SHAKESPEARE magazine 3

At last! A magazine with all the Will in the world
SHAKESPEARE
Celebrating
450 years of the
English language’s
greatest-ever
wordsmith
Contents
Launch issue
Shakespeare Magazine
Issue One
23 April 2014
Founder & Editor
Pat Reid
Art Editor
Paul McIntyre
Advertising Manager
Helen Forsyth
Writers
Robin Askew
Zoe Bramley
Andrew Bretz
Koel Chatterjee
Emma Gutteridge
Lisa Houston
Naomi Lord
Kate Madison
Samantha Mann
Helen Mears
Tom Phillips
Brooke Thomas
Daniela Verdejo
Photography
David Hammonds
Gavin Roberts
Ceramic Art
Hannah Tribe
Cover
Engraving by Martin Droeshout,
1623
Thank You
Richard Forsyth
Guy Radcliffe
Laura Pachkowski
Mrs Mary Reid
Thomas Xavier Reid
Contact Us
shakespearemag@outlook.com
Twitter
@UKShakespeare
Coming Soon
www.shakespearemagazine.com
Game of crowns 10
How Hollow Crown Fans made Shakespeare a Twitter phenomenon.
Shakespeare
news 6
What’s shaking in the world of
Shakespeare.
Exclusive
competition 19
This unique and beautiful
handcrafted Shakespeare swan
is up for grabs.
4 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Contents
Once upon a time
in the west 20
How Bristol became a hotbed of
Slaughtering
Shakespeare 28
Jessica Lange, Anthony Hopkins
and the most shocking Shakespeare
Beyond the
bloodbath 32
of Titus Andronicus.
Bollywood
shakes! 34
The century-long romance of
William Shakespeare.
All the world’s
a... screen 38
Shakespeare authority
Around the
Globe in a day 42
All in a day’s work at
Shakespeare’s Globe.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 5

News
SHAKESPEARE
N ews
“All the world’s a stage / And all the men and women merely players”
OPENING SCENE
Oh, Verona!
The Arena di Verona Opera Festival: clearly the place
to be for opera buffs with a taste for Shakespeare.
Running from 20 June to 7 September,
the Festival’s highlights include
productions of Carmen, Turandot
and
Romeo
and Juliet
Roméo et Juliette is staged, with
Tickets from www.arena.it or email
biglietteria@arenadiverona.it
6 SHAKESPEARE magazine

News
Strike a Pose
Bolton school's stylish R&J is
inspired by Madonna's 'Vogue'.
Last month, Bolton School staged
Romeo and
Juliet with Zack Howarth and
the concept of the battling houses of
Montague and Capulet.
Next up for the school’s Shakespeare
450 celebrations is a festival presenting
out too for an unpcoming production
of Christopher Marlowe’s Dr. Faustus,
www.boltonschool.org
Twitter @drama_bsbd
The Day The Globe Caught Fire
Dancer Roberto
Bolle returns to the
City of London Tour Guide
Zoe Bramley reports from the
Shakespeare Trail.
The first Globe theatre was situated
a few hundred yards from today’s
replica and was built in 1599. There’s
some disagreement as to which play was
first performed there – Henry V? Julius
Caesar? But we know for sure which play was
performed on the day it burned down.
It was 29 June 1616. Inside the
Globe, the groundlings – or “penny
stinkards” – stood blinking in the afternoon
sun, enthralled by the action on stage. The
King’s Men were performing Henry VIII,
Shakespeare’s latest, and the house was packed.
As the play progressed, and Henry VIII
entered Cardinal Wolsey’s house, a cannon
was fired in honour of the legendary king.
So thrilling was the spectacle that no-one
noticed a stray spark land in the thatched
roof. And when it began to smoulder, it was
thought “but an idle smoak.” According to
our eye witness Henry Wotton, the audience
had “eyes more attentive to the show”, so “it
kindled inwardly and ran around like a train,
consuming within less than an hour the whole
house to the very ground.”
Happily, the only thing hurt was one
man’s pride when his breeches caught fire and
had to be extinguished with a bottle
of beer.
In 1989, the site of the Globe was explored
by archaeologists from the Museum of London
who discovered signs of charring above the
foundations. Fire was an everyday hazard in
the 17th Century, and thatched roofs were
finally banned after the Great Fire of 1666
which devoured the medieval city. Today’s
Globe theatre is the first London building to be
permitted a thatched roof since then.
Twitter: @shakespearewalk
SHAKESPEARE magazine 7

News
Back to school
with Shakespeare
Inspired by the RSC’s ‘Stand up for Shakespeare’
approach, teacher Helen Mears shares her essential
Dos and Don’ts for teaching the Bard.
DON’T speak about Shakespeare
in hushed, reverent tones. He was
a merchant’s son from small-town
Stratford-upon-Avon. He didn’t go
to university. He was educated by
the English grammar school system.
He was of the people and he is for
the people.
DON’T let your students be afraid
of the language. Ninety-five percent
of the words Shakespeare used are
still in use today. The rest can be
looked up in a good glossary or else
gleaned from speaking them and
looking at them in context.
DON’T be afraid that you can
introduce Shakespeare too early.
Young children are used to archaicsounding
language in the form of
nursery rhymes and fairy tales. They
will enjoy the rhythm and rhyme,
particularly that of the faeries and
witches in the plays.
DON’T simply sit at the desks and
read. The language is there to be
explored. Look at punctuation, prose
and verse, variations in the iambic
rhythm. Think about where they are
used and why. What do they tell us
about the characters?
DON’T say “I know this is boring but
we have to”. Talk about Elizabethan
England – the plague, bear-baiting,
castles, stately homes. Tell them about
the Reformation and the power
of kings and queens. Explain why
Shakespeare had to be so careful about
what he wrote.
DO see the play – a live production,
recorded, film or television – however
you can. Avoid those hammy Olivierera
films. Received pronunciation
didn’t exist in Shakespeare’s England
and William himself would have
spoken with a broad regional accent.
Remember, he’s for everyone.
DO ensure your students know and
understand the story of the play they
are studying. Show them the whole
story and get them to summarise it as
a tweet, a fairy story, a rap. Then you
can begin to work on smaller, edited
extracts of the text.
DO move away from the desks.
Shakespeare’s works are play texts,
so treat them as plays. Say the words
aloud, start in groups and select key
words from the speech or scene, and
use gesture to reinforce the meaning of
those words.
DO get to know the characters
really well. Play ranking and sorting
games – who is the most important,
the least? Make character Facebook
pages, explore their relationships,
emotions and motivations.
Characters are the heart and soul of
every Shakespeare play.
DO let your students find their own
meanings. It doesn’t matter what crusty
old critics have said, how do the plays
resonate today? Explore the universal
themes that drive the plays – love, hate,
revenge, friendship, ambition. Ask your
students what would they do in the
same situation?
www.rsc.org.uk/sufs/
The Shakespeare Magazine Quiz
To celebrate the Bard's 450th birthday, our debut quiz is inspired
by the “uncertain glory” of the month of April itself...
1Shakespeare’s
birthdate is
unknown, but thought
to be 23 April. On
christened at Stratford-
2
Shakespeare also
died on 23 April – in
“Blessed be the man
that spares these
stones…”
3In his will,
Shakespeare
“second-best bed”
to his wife Anne. The
document is also
famous for containing
three of the existing six
4From which
Shakespeare
character, does this
“O, how this spring of
love resembleth / The
5Shakespeare’s
his troops with these
Answers: 1) 26 April, 2) “And curst be he that moves my bones”, 3) Shakespeare’s signature, 4) The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Proteus, Act 1, Scene 3), 5) Harfleur
8 SHAKESPEARE magazine

News
A dressing
room revelation
for the cast
(Lili Fuller and
Joe Sofranco,
far right).
Pauline (Lili
Fuller) channels
Works in Progress
Hot new US show Complete
Works could do for Shakespeare
what Pitch Perfect did for acapella.
Back in 2004, Joe Sofranco beat 16,000
competitors to win the National Shakespeare
Competition in New York. Ten years later,
he has a company named Kingdom For a Horse
Productions and he’s the writer, co-director and star
of Complete Works, a Shakespeare-themed comedy
launching on the Bard’s 450th birthday.
Joe plays an aspiring, Shakespeare-obsessed actor
named Hal, who sounds suspiciously like a younger
version of himself. Three years in the making,
the show is set in the surprisingly cut-throat
world of theatre geeks and collegiate Shakespeare
competitions.
“This was such a labour of love,” says Executive
Producer Lili Fuller, who also plays the character of
Pauline. “It stemmed from our shared passion for
theatre and Shakespeare. The three of us are theatre
geeks, and our community is full of crazy, hilarious
people.”
With shades of Mean Girls and Pitch Perfect
– not to mention cult mockumentary Waiting for
Guffman – Complete Works just might be the TV
comedy the Bard's fans have been waiting for.
Complete Works is screening at
hulu.com/complete-works
SHAKESPEARE magazine 9

The Hollow Crown
British acting
heavyweight
Jeremy Irons
as Henry IV.
Game
of
Crowns
10 SHAKESPEARE magazine

The Hollow Crown
“Shakespeare is for everyone, no
matter your age, native language
or level of education. We try to
show that Shakespeare can be a
part of pop culture”
Hollow Crown Fans
Twitter phenomenon
Hollow Crown Fans
launched the hugely
popular Shakespeare
Sunday onto a Bardhungry
internet. We
tracked down founders
Lis and Rose for an
illuminating chat about all
things Shakespeare...
SHAKESPEARE magazine 11

The Hollow Crown
ith disarming modesty, Lis and Rose of Hollow
Crown Fans describe themselves as “two admins
who are both Shakespeare enthusiasts”. They’re a
transatlantic duo – Rose is from the UK, while Lis
hails from the USA. They first met on Twitter during
“the infamous Wimbledon delay” of 7 July 2012.
This was the occasion when the BBC’s broadcast of
The Hollow Crown: Henry IV Part 1 was held up
by the trifling matter of a sporting event in London
SW19. “If it hadn’t been for tennis,” they say, “we
may have never met.” Rose also had a personal stake
in The Hollow Crown, having appeared as an extra
in THC: Henry V, which starred Tom Hiddleston:
“So you could say we were very early adopters of
the series...”
Joe Armstrong as
Hotspur in Henry IV
Part 1.
12 SHAKESPEARE magazine

The Hollow Crown
Ben Whishaw as the
divinely decadent
Richard II.
How did you get interested in
Shakespeare?
Lis: “I come from a family that really values
and appreciates poetry so Shakespeare was
introduced early on. I fell in love with
Sonnet 30 as young teenager and began
to explore the rest of his work. I became
interested in Shakespeare in its theatre form
after seeing Ralph Fiennes play Hamlet on
Broadway. That made a huge impression on
me and I was forever drawn to Shakespeare
productions on screen and stage thereafter.”
Rose: “I’ve had an interest in Shakespeare
from a very early age thanks to my parents
and the BBC’s fantastic animated tales series
(1992). I think what really made me fall in
love with the language was studying Romeo
and Juliet in school during the same year Baz
Luhrmann’s film was released, 1996. It all
seemed to click!”
about The Hollow Crown?
Lis: “I love the History plays and was
keenly interested in new adaptations of
them, especially given the dream cast across
the tetralogy. Richard II in particular came
“We have young students
following us and top
academics, actors, producers,
media professionals, and top
Shakespeare institutions”
Hollow Crown Fans
alive in a way the text never did for me upon
reading. That’s when I realised how powerful
Shakespeare could be, even with the perceived
limitations of television. I’d been used to
seeing Shakespeare on Broadway and in
regional theatre and big films like Kenneth
Branagh’s Henry V. The quality of these epic
productions for the small screen drew me in.”
Rose: “I was lucky enough to have been cast
as an extra in The Hollow Crown: Henry V.
I love Shakespeare and history, but it was the
mention of Tom Hiddleston that gave me
courage to take the plunge and give it a go.
“As a result I was already physically and
emotionally invested in the series from
as early as winter 2011! It was so exciting
following Tom Hiddleston’s tweets from the
battlefield and beyond during the filming
process. Some of the locations I had visited
on holiday or were local to me, which was an
added aspect of interest in seeing this series.
To have been involved, be it a very small part,
is something I shall never forget.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 13

The Hollow Crown
“I love Shakespeare and history, but it was the
mention of Tom Hiddleston that gave me courage to
take the plunge and give it a go” Rose
“Before watching THC, I must confess the
history plays never appealed to me, I much
preferred the comedies and tragedies! The
Hollow Crown opened my eyes to these plays
and beyond. The fantastic casting did much to
hook me initially, along with visual feast of the
costumes and film locations used.”
What made you take to Twitter,
and can you describe how your
following grew?
HCF: “We started out to promote a petition
to the BBC to release a commemorative book
of photographs that were taken during the
filming of The Hollow Crown. Initially we
tried to create interesting content so people
would follow us and therefore sign the
petition. Since then our scope has changed
to reinforce our core beliefs that Shakespeare
is for everyone, no matter your age, native
language or level of education. We try to
show, on a daily basis, that Shakespeare can
be a part of pop culture.
“As we’ve introduced art and writing
contests, interactive activities, promoting
news about the cast and Shakespeare, and of
course #ShakespeareSunday we’ve steadily
grown in numbers but also in the diversity
14 SHAKESPEARE magazine

The Hollow Crown
Tom Hiddleston as
Henry V (left) and
David Morrissey as
Northumberland
(above).
of our followers. We have young students
following us and top academics, actors,
producers, media professionals, and top
Shakespeare institutions. We’re proud of
our diversity but also with how engaged our
followers are with us every day.”
How did you come up with the
idea for the phenomenally popular
#ShakespeareSunday?
HCF: “We loved quoting scenes from The
Hollow Crown and we’d periodically ask
“what’s your favorite quote from...” Then one
Sunday in October 2012, we thought we’d
expand that activity and give the hashtag
#ShakespeareSunday a try and see if people
liked it. The response to it has been nothing
short of incredible.”
Can you share some of your
favourite moments, tweets or
stories from Hollow Crown Fans
around the world?
HCF: “Favourite moments tend to centre
around the activities we’ve done with the
community. We ran an art contest in 2012
and it was amazing to see the work of so
many talented artists coming in. We did a
Cento Poetry competition that was judged
by The Shakespeare Institute, and again the
creativity of our followers was inspiring.
“Probably the greatest tweet was from
James Purefoy, who played Mowbray in
Richard II. He had tweeted he was on a
transatlantic flight and so we asked him to
quote some Shakespeare from the air and he
responded with one from The Tempest: ‘The
cloud-capp’d tow’rs, the gorgeous palaces, The
solemn temples, the great globe itself...’ which
was simply perfect in context.”
“Undeniably one of our favourite
SHAKESPEARE magazine 15

The Hollow Crown
moments came from a PBS interview Tom
Hiddleston did where he spent time talking
about our account and #ShakespeareSunday.
Getting support from the star of the series, as
well as a prominent television network like
PBS, is a great feeling.”
Was The Hollow Crown
responsible for the rise of
Tom Hiddleston – or was Tom
Hiddleston responsible for the
success of The Hollow Crown?
HCF: “Tom Hiddleston was already making
waves as Loki in the Marvel films, but
perhaps The Hollow Crown showed a mass
audience how adept he is at performing and
leading an audience through Shakespeare.
The Hollow Crown had a tremendous cast
of new talent as well as legends – it would
be a mistake to chalk up the success of The
Hollow Crown to any one actor. To be frank,
David Dawson as
Poins (left) with Tom
Hiddleston’s Hal.
Shakespeare is what made it successful. We
track mentions on Twitter and Shakespeare
outruns mentions of any of the actors by 10-
20 times the rate!”
Apart from the obvious big names,
who are some of your favourite
characters and actors from The
Hollow Crown?
Lis: “The supporting actor that really
stood out for me was David Morrissey as
Northumberland in Richard II. I can only
describe him as completely badass. His role
and lines were appropriate for the historical
setting Shakespeare wrote for, but David
made the political role modern and fresh with
the right balance of edginess and gravitas.
“As for favourite character, I really enjoyed
how David Dawson brought Poins to life. I
thought he and Tom Hiddleston had great
chemistry together and provided a lot of
levity that stood up well against the wellknown
humour between Hal and Falstaff.
They made me want to head off to Boar’s
Head Tavern for a few cups of sack!”
Rose: “Two names I have to mention
here. Firstly, Edward Akrout – the ‘dashing’
Dauphin in Henry V. He gave a wonderful
performance in a role that was rather edited
down from the original version of the play. I
felt he gave the Dauphin more than just the
‘bad guy’ image one would originally expect
in the role – and by the end might dare to
confess even feeling some sympathy it hadn’t
gone to plan at Agincourt!
“Joe Armstrong as Harry Percy (Hotspur)
in Henry IV Part 1 was another key favourite
character and actor in the series. I had long
been a fan of his father, Alun Armstrong, and
was delighted that they were cast as father and
son in The Hollow Crown!
“Not only did they naturally work
“The supporting actor that really stood out for me was
David Morrissey as Northumberland in Richard II.
I can only describe him as completely badass” Lis
16 SHAKESPEARE magazine

The Hollow Crown
Edward Akrout cuts a dash
as the Dauphin.
brilliantly together, but Joe matched up to the
likes of Jeremy Irons, Tom Hiddleston and
Michelle Dockery fantastically. By the end of
this episode you were half torn with sadness
that the light Joe shone to this character was
extinguished by Prince Hal.”
What are your thoughts on
Hollow Crown 2?
Lis: “I could not be more excited - and
still a bit shocked - that a second series was
announced, as the first series was reportedly
disappointing in ratings. But I’m ecstatic that
once again the BBC will bring lesser-known
plays to the small screen, and ideally find
that balance between making it appealing
to the masses and detailed enough for the
already converted. The casting of Benedict
Cumberbatch in Richard III seems to indicate
that’s the approach they plan to take.”
Rose: “I am still in a complete state of
happiness that there is a second series! We
knew how much the first was loved by people
and, thanks to the internet, how global this
was. But realistically, the viewing figures in
2012 were not as high as we had hoped, let
alone the BBC’s expectations.
“When The White Queen aired on the
BBC earlier this year, we had fun pairing up
quotes from Henry VI and Richard III to
various images, and discussed how much we
wished THC could have had a second series!
“Philippa Gregory’s novels, along with the
recent discovery of Richard III’s body, have
brought this period of history more into the
public eye and shown there is a wide interest
and demand for this material.
“The War of the Roses accompanied with
Shakespeare during the 450th anniversary of
his birth seems the perfect combination right
now and we expect only great things from
The Hollow Crown series 2!”
Find Hollow Crown Fans on Twitter:
@HollowCrownFans
SHAKESPEARE magazine 17

Win
EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION
To celebrate the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth on
23 April 1564, we have commissioned this beautiful and entirely
original ceramic work from artist Hannah Tribe.
Titled ‘Sweet Swan of Avon’, it will make a uniquely perfect
centrepiece to the writing desk of any Shakespeare fan.
Photo: David Hammonds
To be in with a chance of winning our lovely swan, simply send an email to
shakespearemag@outlook.com with ‘Swan Comp’ in the subject line.
Don’t forget to include your name, address, postcode and contact number.
We will accept entries from outside the UK, but please be sure to include full
contact details.
The closing date for this competition is Monday 26 May
– and may fortune favour you!
“This sculpture combines references to characters from
Shakespeare’s life, both real and imagined”
SHAKESPEARE magazine 19

Shakespeare city: Bristol
ONCE UPON A
TIME IN THE WEST
20 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Shakespeare city: Bristol
Main image: Clifton
Suspension Bridge is
Bristol’s most iconic
landmark.
Right: Shakespeare
Inn, Victoria Street.
Local poet and
playwright
Tom Phillips
takes us on a
Shakespeare-
tour of the city
of Bristol.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 21

Shakespeare city: Bristol
“Peter O’Toole’s 1955 performance
as Hamlet at Bristol Old Vic is the
stuff of legend”
Photos: Alan Moore, Gavin Roberts
The Shakespeare
pub, Redland.
22 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Shakespeare city: Bristol
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s 2000
production of King Lear: Roland Oliver as Lear
(below) and Paul Nicholson as the Fool (below, right).
Amuch-loved, but often-overlooked city
in the South-West of England, Bristol
makes no claims to have any particular
connection with the living, breathing
William Shakespeare. There are a few
passing mentions of the city in Henry IV pts 1 & 2
and Richard II – mostly in connection with troop
movements and ‘the caterpillars of the commonwealth’
who rebel against the monarchy – but it wasn’t a
particularly prominent feature on Shakespeare’s
imaginary map of England.
The playwright’s posthumous presence,
however, looms large. Maybe that’s because,
having passed through Stratford, the river
Avon snakes through the city, runs under
Clifton Suspension Bridge and out to the
Bristol Channel. You might say, in fact, that
the river plugs the city into the Shakespearean
heartland.
A rather less fanciful explanation, perhaps,
is that Bristol has a long and eminent
theatre tradition and, not surprisingly,
productions of Shakespeare’s plays have been
a prominent part of that. Peter O’Toole’s
1955 performance as Hamlet at Bristol Old
Vic is the stuff of legend while the same
theatre’s 1997 production of Macbeth with
Pete Postlethwaite as the eponymous Scottish
king saw the professional stage debut of one
Chiwetel Ejiofor (as Malcolm).
More recently, the city has also gained an
annual Bristol Shakespeare Festival – with
many a production staged outdoors or in
unlikely venues – and the simultaneously
acclaimed and popular Shakespeare at the
Tobacco Factory.
The brainchild of Bristol-based director
Andrew Hilton, the latter began life a few
weeks after the millennium, when it opened
with King Lear. On the face of it, it was
absurdly ambitious: a full-cast production of
the bleakest tragedy staged in a rough-andready
space on the first floor of a stripped-out
factory building in what was then a fairly
rundown part of south Bristol.
On press night, not more than a dozen
people showed up. Only two of us were
journalists. Of the rest, at least three or more
members of the audience appeared to have
wandered into the place by accident and had
only stayed because it was marginally warmer
than the street outside. We spread ourselves
out in the auditorium in a desperate attempt
SHAKESPEARE magazine 23

Shakespeare city: Bristol
to make it look full. Then the play started.
From the outset, it was obvious that this
was no ordinary production. Lines which had
been dunned into me in A-level English until
they’d lost all their poetry were leaping off
the page as if nobody had ever spoken them
before.
Even relatively minor characters were
emerging as fully rounded individuals with a
life which went way beyond their usefulness
as plot devices. Without a hint of gimmickry,
without any attempt to be trendily cutting
edge by, say, relocating the entire play to a
supermarket in war-torn Bosnia, this was a
production which put its trust in the text and
mined it for every nuance, every ambiguity.
The result was extraordinary. By the time
Lear was railing against Cordelia’s ingratitude,
even the people who’d not really meant to
come and see a Shakespeare play at all were
sitting bolt upright. By the time of the king’s
expulsion onto the heath, they were on the
edge of their seats. Even the sword fight
between Edgar and Edmund looked as if it
might go either way.
That same week, apparently, Hilton
Great British
Shakespeare
venue: Tobacco
Factory.
“Even the sword fight between Edgar and
Edmund looked as if it might go either way”
considered pulling the plug on the whole
venture. The company was operating on the
narrowest of margins and ticket sales were
appalling. It seemed that Bristol didn’t have
an appetite for yet more Shakespeare after all.
Thankfully, he didn’t – because, as word
began to spread and reviews began to appear,
the city woke up to the fact that something
unique was going on and by the last week of
the month-long run you couldn’t get a ticket
for love nor money. The production of A
Midsummer Night’s Dream which followed
ploughed the same back-to-basics furrow and
fared equally well.
More than aware that too early an
exposure to Shakespeare can lead to a lifelong
aversion, I took my six-year-old daughter to
see it. She spent most of the in-the-round
performance lying full-length on the very
edge of the ‘stage’, enthralled by the antics of
Puck, Bottom, Helena and Hermia. While
we were walking home, she announced that
she wanted to be an actress. Fifteen years
later, she’s about to graduate with a degree in
performing arts.
Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory,
meanwhile, have gone from strength to
strength. Aside from an ill-fated production
of Titus Andronicus which nearly bankrupted
the company, they’ve enjoyed unparalleled
success, earned themselves a reputation as
a sort of West Country-based RSC and
given dozens of young actors a leg-up in the
perilous early stages of their career, most
recently with their second take on As You
Like It. What’s more, while they might not
have kickstarted the regeneration of south
Bristol, their popularity hasn’t done anything
to harm it.
Exactly how finely honed productions of
Shakespeare might benefit a neighbourhood’s
local economy is a question that’s yet to
be answered, but it certainly feels as if
there’s some kind of connection between
renegotiating Hamlet’s soliloquies and the
24 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Shakespeare city: Bristol
“The city’s longest-running pub is, of course, called
The Shakespeare Tavern, having opened in 1777”
reinvigoration of the local high street.
Walk down Prince Street towards Bristol
docks, meanwhile, and you’ll come across the
city’s longest-running pub. It is, of course,
called The Shakespeare Tavern and, having
opened in 1777, it reputedly took its name
because Shakespeare was very much on the
menu at the nearby Theatre Royal (i.e. Bristol
Old Vic). In here, last summer, you might
have encountered an ad-hoc pub performance
for Bristol Shakespeare Festival. Over the bar,
you might also have noticed a quotation from
Merry Wives of Windsor.
In here too you might also have spotted
someone sitting at a long wooden table with
a copy of the Sonnets open beside his pint
of Guinness. That was me preparing for
another typically quirky BSF performance:
Shakespeare Sonnet Russian Roulette, in
which audience members shout out numbers
from one to 154 and I do sight-read requests.
I don’t think I’ve ever been more terrified
in my life, but it’s a mark of the poetry’s
greatness that its meaning is there, ready and
waiting – no matter who reads it. All you
have to do is look.
Roland Oliver
as Bottom in A
Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Tobacco
Factory, 2000).
Could you write a Shakespeare Guide to your
favourite city? Get in touch:
shakespearemag@outlook.com
Shakespeare Tavern,
Prince Street.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 25

Titus Andronicus
Saturninus
(Alan Cumming)
oversees his evil
empire in Titus.
28 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Titus Andronicus
She wound up doing The Lion King and Spider-Man on Broadway. But 15 years
Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Here’s what Robin Askew reckoned at the time...
Titus (18)
USA 1999 /162 minutes
Director: Julie Taymor
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange,
Alan Cumming, Harry Lennix, Colm Feore,
Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Angus Macfadyen,
Laura Fraser
It’ll be too baroque, violent
and – whisper it! – funny
for those who prefer their
Shakespeare luvvie-cosy,
but Julie Taymor’s brave,
visually stunning re-imagining of
this little-known vengeance yarn
is an absolute vindication of her
contention that it’s an overlooked
masterpiece brimming with
contemporary resonance – and a
real treat for those who prefer the
Bard’s earlier, gorier ones.
Much has been written about the way
our appreciation of Shakespeare in general,
and Titus Andronicus in particular, is viewed
through the prism of Victorian criticism, with
all its attendant moral baggage. The brilliance
of Taymor’s version is that it recaptures the
spirit of old Bill’s biggest crowd-pleaser,
which entails the increasingly unpleasant
deaths of virtually all of its principals in a
cycle of vengeance that redeems nobody, with
an ugly side-order of sexual abuse, racism and
religiously inspired atrocity.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 29

Titus Andronicus
How
Bull-headed and
borderline insane:
Anthony Hopkins
as Titus.
much more modern relevance do you
want? Anthony Hopkins, on top form, is
the eponymous granite-hewn, bull-headed
warrior who returns to Rome in triumph after
an extended bout of blood-letting, bearing
Tamora, Queen of the Goths (Lange), her
three sons and “barbarous Moor” Aaron
(Lennix) as his prisoners.
Religious tradition requires a sacrifice, so
the eldest son gets to be torn limb from limb,
his giblets sizzled over an open fire, earning
Titus the undying enmity of the warrior
queen. But his first mistake is in pledging
fealty to weak and effete new emperor
Saturninus (Cumming), who promptly falls
for the exotic and cunning Tamora, giving her
a position of power from which to unleash
the tit-for-tat revenge that will continue until
the climactic time-slice freeze-frame.
Taymor performs wonders in conjuring
such a sumptuous visual feast on a relatively
“Shakespeare had a keen appreciation of comic horror
long before the era of The Evil Dead”
30 SHAKESPEARE magazine

“Old Bill’s biggest crowd-pleaser entails the
increasingly unpleasant deaths of virtually
all of its principals”
Titus Andronicus
“Exotic and cunning”
Tamora, played with
sadistic relish by
Jessica Lange.
low budget. From the tremendous, superbly
choreographed opening tableau of an army
of warriors performing a victory ritual in the
Coliseum, the film mixes and matches the
iconography of Ancient Rome, ’30s Italian
fascism and beyond, with every aspect of
the production design and music carefully
thought through, demanding repeated
viewing to appreciate its myriad subtleties.
The violence which is so central to the
story is also explicit only when necessary.
No censor would risk the ridicule of cutting
Shakespeare, but nor can one imagine them
permitting the gleeful rape and mutilation
endured by Titus’s virginal daughter Lavinia
in any other film.
Taymor shows us only what we need to
see, but it’s no less horrific for that. Better yet,
she restores the play’s oft-excised funny lines,
which reveal that Shakespeare had a keen
appreciation of comic horror long before the
era of The Evil Dead.
The performances are uniformly
magnificent, many of the characters
prefiguring in unvarnished form the Bard’s
more famous creations (Titus/Lear, Tamora/
Lady Macbeth, Aaron/Iago), with Harry
Lennix’s unrepentant Aaron – Shakespeare’s
most overt treatment of race, fact fans –
almost stealing it from Hopkins’ borderline
insane Titus.
This review originally appeared in
Venue Magazine.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 31

Titus Andronicus
Beyond
the
bloodbath
Traditionally viewed as the
ultimate victim, Lavinia is the
Titus Andronicus,
writes Emma Gutteridge.
S
2
hakespeare’s earliest and bloodiest tragedy, Titus
Andronicus boasts a dizzying body count. With
14 deaths by the final curtain, not even Hamlet
(nine deaths) and King Lear (ten) come close. But
the deaths themselves aren’t the most shocking
component of this still-disturbing play.
In the second act, Lavinia, daughter of Titus, is brutally raped by
Chiron and Demetrius, sons of the vengeful Queen Tamora. Worse
still, to prevent her from revealing their identities, the brothers viciously
cut out Lavinia’s tongue and hack off her hands. If you have a strong
stomach, try a Google image search for ‘Lavinia in Titus Andronicus’
and then stare open-mouthed at the ensuing gallery of horrors. But
Lavinia is more than a mere emblem of victimhood. Her mutilated,
blood-drenched body conceals astonishing reserves of strength. Lavinia
is, in fact, the nearest thing to a hero in Titus Andronicus...
32 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Titus Andronicus
She’s a rebel
Status-conscious Titus elects 1Saturninus
as Emperor of Rome, giving him both his
daughter and his war prisoners to show
support. But seemingly subservient Lavinia
scuppers his plan by eloping with Bassianus,
the man she truly loves. Lavinia’s defiant act
of rebellion has calamitous consequences. Her
father’s reputation is damaged, as is his trust
in her. Her actions also inadvertently cause
the death of her brother Mutius, a fate which
could have been avoided. And Saturninus,
denied the chance to marry Lavinia, falls
for Tamora instead, providing Rome’s new
Empress with enough power to destroy the
Andronicus family.
She takes on Tamora
Before her brutal silencing, Lavinia is vocal
in insulting Saturninus or confirming her
love for Bassianus. But the bulk of Lavinia’s
words are expended in a battle of wits with
the formidable Tamora, Queen of the Goths.
Discovering Tamora’s affair with Aaron,
morally righteous Lavinia furiously condemns
the Goth Queen’s adultery. Even after her
husband Bassianus is murdered, Lavinia’s
verbal assault rages unabated. This clearly is
a woman who speaks her mind whatever the
consequences.
She has unbelievable resilience
Until her death in Act 5, Lavinia remains
a near-constant presence on the stage.
Spending three acts dumb and without hands
is, of course, a major challenge 3for any actress
playing the role. In the Royal Shakespeare
Company’s 2013 production Rose Reynolds
scrounged a mouthful of boiled egg after
Photo: Graham Burke
A blood-drenched
Catherine
Hamilton as
Lavinia (The
Tobacco Factory,
Bristol, 2006)
defiantly crushing it with her stump. “She
innately possesses an inner strength and
power,” Reynolds says.
She never forgets who she is
In one of the play’s most unforgettable scenes,
Lavinia finds 4a way to bring retribution
to the Goth Princes. Shakespeare depicts
Lavinia chasing her young nephew who
holds the books she needs to ‘speak’ to her
family. She scrabbles with the pages until
‘The Tale of Philomela’ is open (in fact, the
story her tragedy was based upon). Lavinia’s
desperation to have a ‘voice’ is brilliantly
manifested in the 1985 BBC production,
where Anna Calder-Marshall frantically turns
the pages with her teeth.
She’s the bravest character
in the play
Surviving the physical and mental wounds
of her ordeal, while grieving for her husband
and brothers, Lavinia displays more courage
than any of the play’s male characters.
Ultimately she even brings retribution to
her assailants, Chiron and Demetrius – by
scraping words in sand with a staff held
in her mouth. Lavinia’s 5final moments are
spent in her father’s arms, but their loving
reconciliation is heart-rendingly brief, as Titus
is honour-bound to end his daughter’s life.
Read the full unedited version of this article on
our Facebook page
“Try a Google image search for ‘Lavinia in Titus
Andronicus’ and then stare open-mouthed at the
ensuing gallery of horrors”
SHAKESPEARE magazine 33

Bollywood
Amazingly, the love affair between England’s
greatest wordsmith and the world’s biggest
BOLLYWOOD
SHAKES!
W
hen we think of Shakespeare
in Bollywood we think of
adaptations such as Angoor
[Grapes] (1982), Qayamat Se
Qayamat Tak [From Doom to
Doom] (1988), Maqbool (2003) and Omkara
(2006). We might add to the list Shakespeare-themed
movies such as Shakespeare Wallah (1965) or The
Last Lear (2007). The Bard, however, is embedded
in the very dialogue and imagery of Bollywood.
This was true right from its inception due
to the roots of Hindi cinema in the Parsi
theatre tradition which freely borrowed from
European, Persian and Sanskrit sources.
After the 1950s, the Bengali literary tradition
resulted in several faithful translations
and adaptations of Shakespeare, which,
in conjunction with the inspiration of
Hollywood Shakespeare films, has led to
more complex adaptations of Shakespeare in
Bollywood in recent years.
Naseeruddin Shah, a veteran Bollywood
actor who has played Shakespeare on stage
and on screen claimed: “The roots may look
lost but every big story in the Hindi film
industry is from Shakespeare.” This may be an
oversimplification, but Bollywood not only
abounds in sly and unexpected references to
popular Shakespeare dialogues and characters,
but in common themes and devices such
as twins separated at birth, cross-dressing
characters, star-crossed lovers, characters
falling in love with messengers, the wise fool,
the tamed Shrew and the mousetrap device.
Several early Shakespearean adaptations
in Bollywood were copies of Hollywood
adaptations such as Kishore Sahu’s 1954
Hamlet, which was a shot-by-shot imitation
of Olivier’s 1948 Hamlet. The 1947 Romeo
and Juliet starring Nargis as Juliet was a
copy of the Hollywood version with Norma
Shearer. In recent years, the Rani Mukherjee
34 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Bollywood
“The 1947
Romeo and
Juliet starring
Nargis as Juliet
was a copy of
the Hollywood
version
with Norma
Shearer”
starrer Dil Bole Hadippa! (2009) was a
loose copy of She’s the Man (2006), based
on Twelfth Night. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s
Ram Leela (2013) also owes more to Baz
Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996) than to
Shakespeare.
The most popular plays in Bollywood are
Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew,
The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of
Venice and Hamlet. Taking one example
alone, there are three versions of Hamlet in
the Parsi theatre tradition: Dada Athawale’s
Hamlet or Khoon-e-Nahak [The Unjust
Assassination] (1928), Sohrab Modi’s Khoonka-Khoon
[Blood for Blood] or Hamlet
(1935) and Kishore Sahu’s 1954 Hamlet.
Eklavya (2007), the upcoming untitled film
by gay rights activist film maker Onir, the
in-production Haider by Vishal Bhardwaj,
as well as another planned adaptation to
be directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia starring
Hrithik Roshan, are also based on Hamlet.
The first Shakespearean adaptation on the
Hindi film screen was Savkari Pash (1925)
directed by Baburao Painter based on The
Merchant of Venice. A social melodrama in
the realist tradition, the film dealt with money
lending – a problem that ruined countless
poor, illiterate farmers. The audience, more
accustomed to escapist mythological fantasies
and historical love stories, did not appreciate
the strong dose of realism and the film did
not do well. However, the shot of a dreary hut
accompanied by a howling dog is regarded
as one of the most memorable moments of
Indian cinema.
The
Comedy of Errors is Indian
With a massive Bollywood audience hungry
for laughs, it’s no surprise that India has
made more film adaptations of The Comedy
of Errors than any other country. There are
three from Hong Kong, just two from the
SHAKESPEARE magazine 35

Bollywood
USA and one each from Russia and Mexico.
In contrast, there are six known Indian film
adaptations of this play and three more in
production. Of these, Angoor (1982) is the
best known, both in India and in the world.
It was also one of the first Shakespearean
adaptations in India to be transposed on to a
modern Indian setting.
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), now one
of the best known adaptations of Romeo and
Juliet in Bollywood, was originally scripted
with a happy ending. Nasir Hussain, who
wrote the basic story of QSQT, thought that
Bollywood audiences would refuse to accept a
sad ending, especially in a love story. However,
Mansoor Khan, Nasir’s son and first-time
director, felt very strongly about an ending
where the lovers die and thought that giving
them a happy ending would ruin the integrity
of the story. He managed to convince his father
and an alternate tragic ending was shot. The
film ended up being a superhit.
The Mousetrap Device, or the play-withinthe-play,
helps Hamlet test the Ghost’s
accusation against Claudius. Karz (1980)
and its remake Om Shanti Om (2007) deal
with a popular Bollywood theme – rebirth.
Instead of the ghost, it is the protagonist who
is killed in these two films, who later returns
and uses the Mousetrap Device to ‘catch the
conscience’ of the killer. The Shakespearean
influence in these two commercially popular
Don’t worry, it
all ends badly for
Bollywood’s starcrossed
lovers.
films is completely unacknowledged but the
Hamletian echoes are obvious to anyone
familiar with the play – or the several
adaptations of Hamlet in Bollywood.
Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Maqbool
(Macbeth, 2004) and Omkara (Othello,
2006) have achieved critical and commercial
success internationally. Bhardwaj is the first
Indian filmmaker to attempt a Shakespearean
Trilogy, following in the footsteps of
Lawrence Olivier, Orson Welles, Kenneth
Branagh, Gregory Kozintsev and Akira
Kurosawa. His Haider (Hamlet) is in its final
stages of production.
There were several detailed translations of
Shakespeare in Hindi prose since the first
adaptation of The Merchant of Venice by
Bharatendu Harishchandra in 1880 titled
Durlabh Bandhu. These adaptations, other
than Indianising the names of people or
places, faithfully follow the original text
and were meant for reading rather than
presentation on stage. Dr. Harivansh Rai
Bachhan was the first to translate Macbeth
and Othello in verse in Hindi (in 1956 and
1958 respectively). Dr. Bachan’s son Amitabh
of course became the greatest of all Indian
screen superstars.
Shakespeare has seeped into the very idiom
of Bollywood and we can find references to it
in unexpected places. In Deewar [The Wall]
(1975) for instance, the mother disapproves
of her son’s nefarious doings and tells him
that “all the water in the world cannot wash
your hands clean of your sins”. The popular
comedic villain Ajit invokes Shakespeare
while getting rid of his victim in one movie,
instructing his henchman: “Give him the
Hamlet poison, he’ll continue to be lost in a
haze of to be or not to be!”
36 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Interview: James Shapiro
Photo: Mary Cregan
All the
World ’s a...
Screen
As well as being an authority
on Shakespeare, James Shapiro
38 SHAKESPEARE magazine

“I
cast my lot with those
who think that if
Shakespeare were
around today he’d be
making movies. It’s an
art form that would have suited his
gifts – and his desire to reach a huge
audience –perfectly.
“The first film I remember seeing was
Laurence of Arabia. I was seven in 1962
when my parents took my brother, sister and
I. The thrill of seeing a widescreen film in a
dark moviehouse is fixed in my memory.
“It’s a rare day when I don’t see a film,
or part of one – though given my crazed
schedule, more often than not on video. I
find it to be the most absorbing art form out
there and endlessly surprising – and I try to
draw on its lessons when writing my books.
“When I wrote 1599, for example, I tried
to imagine the opening scene in which a
theatre is hurriedly dismantled and moved
across the Thames on a wintry December day
as the basis for a film script.”
Interview: James Shapiro
Bradley Cooper
harangues Jennifer
Lawrence in Silver
Linings Playbook.
Silver Linings Playbook
“I love romantic comedy but hate romantic
comedies. The jokes are never funny enough
and the comic timing is always slightly off. I
even feel this way about Shakespeare’s Twelfth
Night. So it wasn’t until a third friend told
me that I had to see Silver Linings Playbook
that I finally gave in.
“I loved this movie. Not because of the
“I loved Silver Linings
Playbook because its timing
was absolutely perfect. Every
joke worked. Every scene set
up the next”
amazing chemistry of Bradley Cooper and
Jennifer Lawrence, or because De Niro came
close to stealing the show, but because its
timing was absolutely perfect. Every joke
worked. Every scene set up the next. It was
like experiencing a perfect downhill run on
skis. I left drained and very happy.”
Lore
“I was in London recently and dropped by
the Renoir, my favourite movie house in the
world, where Lore was playing. I had never
heard of the film but thought I’d take a
chance.
“I’ve seen or read scores of films and
books about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism
(and even wrote one about Oberammergau
and its Passion Play, which Hitler so loved)
SHAKESPEARE magazine 39

Interview: James Shapiro
An acclaimed
performance by
Saskia Rosendahl
in Lore.
but I’ve never seen a work that captured so
powerfully what happens when ideology and
reality collide.
“Lore’s struggle to reconcile what she
feels with what she has been taught to believe
– perfectly rendered by Saskia Rosendahl –
continues to haunt me.”
Man on Fire
“For sheer visceral pleasure, my all-time
favourite film is Man on Fire, starring Denzel
Washington. Some films hit you in the gut,
some in the heart, some in the head. This
thriller gets you in the gut.
“I’ve probably watched it 20 times since
it first came out in 2004 and never tire of
viewing it. As someone who teaches and
writes about Hamlet and revenge plays,
Still burning:
Denzel
Washington in
Man on Fire.
I’m fascinated by what makes for a perfect
revenge story. The best revenge is both
mimetic and belated – in other words, an
avenger needs to take his time and inflict
just the right punishment on those who have
done wrong.
“The director of Man on Fire, Tony Scott,
understands the mechanics of the revenge
plot perfectly. Denzel Washington has done
a lot of good work, but his performance as
Creasy, a burned-out former CIA agentturned-bodyguard,
is just amazing.
“I also love Christopher Walken’s cameo.
Just thinking about this film makes me want
to watch it again.”
Paisan
“Flipping through the movie channels the
other night I came upon a film I had never
heard of but will now return to: Roberto
Rosselli’s 1946 black-and-white masterpiece
Paisan, the closest thing to a great short-story
collection on film.
“I wondered how I had gone through life
without having heard of, let alone seen, such
a brilliant work, one that made me feel, as
no other art form ever has, what it was like
to have lived through the final and terrifying
months of the Second World War in Italy.”
A Columbia University professor,
James Shapiro is the author of 1599: A Year
in the Life of William Shakespeare and
Contested Will: who wrote Shakespeare?
and editor of Shakespeare in America.
More from: www.jamesshapiro.net
Parts of this interview originally appeared in
Cineworld Magazine.
40 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Diary: Brooke Thomas
Working at Shakespeare’s Globe is a dream job
for countless Bard fans – but what’s it really like
behind that hallowed stage? Brooke Thomas
reveals all in her Diary of a Globe Researcher
Around the
Globe in a day
round t
42 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Diary: Brooke Thomas
This isn’t the best
picture of the Globe,
but it’s what I see as I
walk across the river to
work, and I don’t mind
admitting that even six
months into my time at
Globe Education, this
sight still makes me feel
like a kid in candy shop.
Bottom’s not bad company,
but he keeps going on
about how he can do my
job better than I can.
he Glob
Here I am with Bottom working on an Antony and
Cleopatra research document in the library. We try to
use original sources as much as possible. This isn’t only
a reliable way to research our productions, but has the
added benefit of involving early modern woodcuttings,
which are hilarious 80% of the time.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 43

Diary: Brooke Thomas
Every day, or more accurately, when we
remember, a member of the team adds
a favourite quote to this whiteboard
in the library. We try to tie it in with
whatever’s currently on in the theatres,
but mostly it’s a bit of fun. There’s
a slight ‘who can think of the most
obscure, but still poignant, Shakespeare
quote’ competitive thing going on, but
that’s to be expected in this hive of
Shakespeare enthusiasts.
I’m not sure whether this one
wins or breaks the rules by
not technically being a quote.
Hmmm.
I’m particularly fond
of this quote from The
Tempest, they’re not just
using me as an extra
whiteboard.
My second favourite place at the Globe is the
green room. Sadly there were no matinée actors
around, and everyone else must’ve been out
enjoying the sunshine, so I had a nice quiet lunch
with Sam.
You can always hear what’s going on in
the theatres next door while you’re in the green
room, it’s one of the reasons I spend so much time
lobe in
working in there. You hear the cheers, laughter,
and groans of the audience, and even if there’s
no show on there’ll musicians rehearsing, or
actors, or you might catch the tail end of a tour.
Of course, some days, like this day, all you
hear are the saws and drills of set builders.
Ah well, it can’t always poetry and lutes.
44 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Diary: Brooke Thomas
I’ve only been in my favourite place in the building once, but
it still beats the green room, the library, and the theatres hands
down for me. Stepping into the tiring house at Shakespeare’s
Globe feels like walking into a cathedral. It’s just a small, dark
space, just a room, but there’s something about the smell of warm
wood and the sunlight filtering through the grates that inspires
awe-filled silence. There’s nothing quite like the excitement and
apprehension that you feel when those doors open inwards, light
floods the sanctuary of the tiring house, and you see the ‘wooden
o’ from the actor’s point of view.
Shakespeare’s
Globe
The Globe theatre, and the new
Jacobean playhouse next door, are
the vision of American actor and
director Sam Wanamaker. Sam worked
tirelessly from 1970 until his death in
1993 to bring Shakespeare’s theatre
back to London. The third and current
incarnation of Shakespeare’s Globe
opened on London’s Bankside in
1997, just a street closer to the river
Globe was opened in 1599 by the
Lord Chamberlain’s Men. It hosted
Shakespeare’s greatest works, including
Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear.
Fun fact: the sofas in our green room are
comically oversized. They’re on a platform
and they’re twice as deep as any sofa I’ve
ever seen.
This is technically to accommodate
the huge costumes our actors wear, but it’s
also good for curling up with a cup of tea
and definitely not falling asleep because
it’s so comfortable. Never. Not even once.
Certainly not on a regular basis.
a day
A breath of fresh
air overlooking
the river Thames
on the roof
terrace.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 45

Contributors
Brooke Thomas 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
Emma Gutteridge Originally from
Cambridgeshire, Emma is graduating
from Winchester University this year
with a degree in Drama. She will be
attending Drama Studio London in the
new academic year to study Professional
Acting. Her love of Shakespeare stems
from her involvement in a production
of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at
school, and she has since performed in
four Shakespeare plays. Most recently
she played Laertes/Guildenstern
in Hamlet with Winchester-based
Platform 4.
Tom Phillips is a poet and
playwright living in Bristol. His
work includes the poetry collection
Recreation Ground (Two Rivers
Press, 2012) and the plays 100 Miles
North of Timbuktu (Theatre West,
Bristol, 2013) and Prella’s Gift (Show
of Strength, Bristol, 2012). He is a
founder member of the international
arts network Culture Exchange
Experiment and the online Anglo-
Bulgarian collaborative arts project
Colourful Star.
Meet thy makers...
Just some of the contributors to this issue of Shakespeare Magazine
Helen Mears teaches English
Literature, Film and Media Studies
at a Further Education college in
Ipswich. She has loved Shakespeare
since her schooldays and at weekends
can be found volunteering at The
Globe or the Sam Wanamaker
Playhouse. She is currently studying
for an MA in the Advanced Teaching
of Shakespeare. She is at her happiest
when watching Shakespeare,
exploring castles and monastic ruins
or listening to Fall Out Boy.
Koel Chatterjee is an English
language tutor and examiner as
well as a PhD candidate at Royal
Holloway, University of London.
Her field of research is Shakespearean
appropriations and adaptations in the
Hindi film industry in post-colonial
India. She runs the blog
www.muchadoaboutshakespeare.com
and is co-organiser of the Shakespeare
and Bollywood Conference.
Hannah Tribe is a young Welsh
artist with “a passion for making”.
She studied Drawing and Applied
Art at the University of the West
of England. Here, she developed
an interest in creating work using
techniques associated with notions
of traditional female craft. In so
doing, she attempts to address “the
everyday conflicts between feminism
and femininity”. She continues
to experiment with works in
embroidery, floristry, cake decoration
and ceramics.
SHAKESPEARE magazine 47

Curtain
MICKEY
ROONEY
(1920-2014)
“If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumbered here
Whilst visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend,
If you pardon, we will mend...
Else the Puck a liar call
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be
friends,
And Robin shall restore amends.”
A teenage Rooney bids farewell
SHAKESPEARE magazine 49

Next issue
We hope you’ve enjoyed Issue One of Shakespeare Magazine.
We’ll be back next month, and here’s just a few of the Bard-related
delights we’ll be unfurling for your pleasure...
PARIS SHAKES!
An army of Shakespeare experts descend on one of the world’s
Macbeth at the Movies
From Kurosawa to Fassbender, the Scottish Play on
the silver screen.
Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits
From Cole Porter to Elvis Costello, every great songwriter
has a touch of the Shakes...
Being Shakespeare
Meet the actors who make a living by playing the Bard.
50 SHAKESPEARE magazine

13 Feb - 2 May 2014
Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol
Raleigh Road, Bristol, BS3 1TF
0117 902 0344
www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com
6 - 10 May
Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
Westborough, Scarborough,
N Yorks, YO11 1JW
01723 370541
www.sjt.uk.com
13 - 17 May
Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham
Regent Street, Cheltenham, GL50 1HQ
01242 572573
www.everymantheatre.org.uk
20 - 24 May
Hall for Cornwall
Lemon Quay, Truro, TR1 2LL
01872 262466
www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
3 - 7 June
Theatre Royal, Winchester
21-23 Jewry Street, Winchester,
Hants SO23 8SB
01962 840440
www.theatreroyalwinchester.co.uk
10 - 14 June
Exeter Northcott Theatre
Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4QB
01392 493 493
www.exeternorthcott.co.uk
17 - 21 June
Salisbury Playhouse
Malthouse La, Salisbury, Wilts, SP2 7RA
01722 320 333
www.salisburyplayhouse.com
Join our mailing list at: