Shakespeare Magazine 04

Welcome 

Welcome 

to Issue 4 of Shakespeare Magazine 

The 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. 

He wasn’t born there, of course – take a bow, Stratford-upon-Avon. 

But it’s in England’s capital city that he first 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 

Photo: David Hammonds 

SHAKESPEARE magazine 3

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

SHAKESPEAREIssue 4 

Contents 

Tom 

Hiddleston 

Coriolanus 

Benedict 

Cumberbatch 

Hamlet 

London 

Calling 

Why the city that made 

Shakespeare 

still rocks the world 

Martin 

Freeman 

Richard III 

London 

Calling 6 

England’s capital is in the throes 

of a Shakespeare Revolution. We 

report from the frontline. 

In the mood 

for love 12 

Why London’s romantics are 

swooning over Shakespeare in 

Love - The Play. 

Shakespeare Magazine 

Issue Four 

September 2014 

Founder & Editor 

Pat Reid 

Art Editor 

Paul McIntyre 

Staff Writers 

Brooke Thomas (UK) 

Mary Finch (US) 

Writers 

Zoe Bramley 

Lauren O’Hara 

Tom Phillips 

Lis Starke 

Emma Wheatley 

Rose Wynne 

Chief Photographer 

Piper Williams 

Photographers 

Emma Liu 

Alison Williams 

Illustrator 

Hannah Finch 

Thank You 

Mrs Mary Reid 

Web design 

David Hammonds 

Contact Us 

shakespearemag@outlook.com 

Facebook 

facebook.com/ShakespeareMagazine 

Twitter 

@UKShakespeare 

Website 

www.shakespearemagazine.com 

London 

“Walk with me 

about the town” 18 

A pictorial guide to some 

of London’s most walkable 

Shakespeare landmarks. 

made Shakespeare 

still rocks the world... 

Calling Why the city that 

The Measure 

Principle 24 

A troupe of London 

students turn Shakespeare 

into Bierkeller cabaret. 

4 SHAKESPEARE magazine

Contents 

The Day of 

the Dauphin 30 

An audience with Edward Akrout, 

an actor who really made his mark 

in The Hollow Crown. 

 

Shakespeare Girl, 

Interrupted 36 

Our resident Shakespearean master 

of disaster recounts her catalogue 

of woes. 

 

Beats, Rhymes 

and Life 42 

Meet The Sonnet Man, a New York 

rapper who’s bringing Shakespeare 

to the people. 

 

Marin County 

memories 46 

Celebrating 25 years of 

outdoor Shakespeare amid 

beautiful scenery. 

 

Go 

East! 50 

The world-spanning Shakespeare 

tour that is Globe To Globe Hamlet 

touches down in Kosova. 

 

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 

shakespearemag@outlook.com 

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 

Illustrations: Hannah Finch, Photos: Alison Williams 

London 

Calling 

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

 

 

 

Words: Brooke Thomas 


Shakespeare in London 

“Josie Rourke’s Coriolanus saw 

Tom Hiddleston (of Avengers 

fame) playing the title role 

to 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. This year Martin 

Freeman, star of The Hobbit and Watson 

in the phenomenally successful BBC drama 

Sherlock, takes on Richard III – box office 

 



According to The Telegraph, however, Zoe 

Wanamaker waded in to applaud Freeman 

for drawing people into the theatre for what 

might be their first 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 The 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 inmeltdown 

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. 

The stars are fire 

Celebrity casting in major Shakespeare 

productions has proved a divisive issue in 

recent years. This 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. 


Shakespeare in London 

Kill list: Martin Freeman’s Richard is 

a psychopathic military bureaucrat. 

“A veteran actress sniped at 

Freeman’s popularity, 

referring to the production 

as Richard the rock concert” 

demand show of all time. The 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 affordable £10 and £15 

tickets may be made available at a later date, 

thereby encouraging first time theatre goers 

even further. 

Players well bestow’d 

A short stroll from the Barbican, through St 

Paul’s and across the Millennium Bridge, is 

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, where Lipman’s 

comments about cheering at the correct time 

would surely be laughed at. 

This 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 stuffy 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 floors of a 

decaying tower block. Iris Theatre’s Richard 

 



Handsome Hamlet: Benedict 

Cumberbatch is set to play 

the melancholy Dane. 

III took over The 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. That 

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. 

Thrice 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 off, the stage adaptation of 1999 romcom 

Shakespeare in Love has kicked off 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 first, last and only place 

to be for fans of the Bard. 

 

The sumptuous Shakespeare in Love 

(of which, more anon...) 


Shakespeare In Love 

London 

Calling 

In the 

mood for 

love 

 

 

 

 

 

Words: Emma Wheatley 


Shakespeare In Love 

“Tom Bateman and 

Lucy Briggs-Owen 

shone as Will 

and Viola. 

Their chemistry 

was fantastic” 

Photos: Johan Persson 

 



The 

 

 

“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 

14 SHAKESPEARE magazine 

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 

 

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 to 

the 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, London 

For 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. 


London 

Calling 

“Walk 

Shakespeare Walks 

with me 

about the 

town...” 

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 Bramley 

Pictures: Piper Williams 



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. 



“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. 

 



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. 



Southwark Cathedral, where 

Shakespeare’s brother Edmund was 

buried in 1607. William paid for the 

‘great bell’ to be tolled. 

A pensive Shakespeare 

watches over the 

garden at Leicester 

Square in the heart of 

London’s West End. 


King’s Shakespeare Company 

London 

Calling 

The Measure 

Principle 

King’s Shakespeare Company is London’s only student 

theatre company dedicated to the Bard. We witnessed their 

subterranean cabaret take on Measure for Measure one 

sweltering night at this summer’s Bristol Shakespeare Festival. 

Words: Lauren O’Hara Pictures: Emma Liu 


King’s Shakespeare Company 

Director Lauren 

O’Hara (far left) 

writes: “A show 

is nothing without 

its crew. Yes, our 

Producer and Stage 

Manager were always 

this smiley.” 

“Eyebrows were 

important. Our makeup 

artist had every 

 

eyebrow shape stuck 

on a wall backstage. 

Here, Hannah Elsy 

models her Isabella 

brows.” 



“This 

“As director, I felt it was 

important for there to be 

enough time before each show 

for everyone to relax.” 

was one of our favourite warmup 

games – ‘Fireball!’ It involved lots of 

concentrating and shouting (and laughing), 

which made sure that everyone was ready 

for the performance each night.” 


King’s Shakespeare Company 

“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.” 

“Brows again. 

Shaped and 

oversized eyebrows 

helped to create 

character and 

ensured that 

expressions could 

be seen by all of the 

audience.” 

“Played by Ria Abbott, The 

Provost was the most heavily 

made-up of the characters. 

She was made to look like an 

 

authority.” 

 



“Making 

“The show featured 

original songs, 

written and arranged 

by Henry Keynes 

Carpenter.” 

“Every costume was made 

up of black, white and red 

to symbolise corruption, 

virtue and lust.” 

sure that 

everyone was warmedup, 

happy and ready to 

start the show was the 

main goal for me every 

evening.” 


Intelligent. 

Cultured. 

Aspirational. 

Shakespeare Magazine has 

readers all over the world. 

Alison Williams, 23 – Pennsylvania, USA 

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 shakespearemag@outlook.com 


Interview: Edward Akrout 

The 

Day of 

the 

Dauphin 

British-French actor Edward Akrout brought a rare sensitivity to 

the role of the villainous Dauphin in The Hollow Crown: Henry V. 

Here, he talks about his cultured upbringing, his passion for 

Shakespeare, and how acting is like being a musician... 

Interview by Lis Starke and Rose Wynne 


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 Frenchborn 

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. 

The 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. 



“Tom Hiddleston is a great actor but also a wonderful 

company leader. He was very much like Henry V himself.” 

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: @EdwardAkrout 

More from Lis and Rose: @HollowCrownFans 

www.hollowcrownfans.com 


Girl, interrupted 

For 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... 

C 

Illustrations: Hannah Finch, Photos: Alison Williams 


Girl, interrupted 

Bryn Mawr. Or, as we 

like to call it, ‘Shakespeare 

Calamity Town’. 

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. 

The 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 final exams the next 

day. Not to mention the (much worse) threat 

of missing our chance to see Richard II. 

It all worked out fine 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 defining characteristic. 

However, my bad luck with Shakespeare 

goes further back than last winter. The first 

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. The 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. 

Now, seven years later, even though I have 

adopted the habit of silencing my phone, 

turning it off and even removing the 

battery, the Shakespeare gremlins still find 

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. 

“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” 

 



hours’ traffic” of the drive back home. This 

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 first half-hour. Although I had 

just enough luck to arrive right at the start of 

the fight between Aufidius and Coriolanus at 

Corioli. So to borrow from the Bard, I guess 

“All’s well that ends well.” 

Antony & Cleopatra 

Coriolanus 

Our 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. The 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- 

If all my other Shakespeare adventures 

went smoothly, I could easily attribute our 

misfortune to ‘The 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. The problem 

this time was not a lack of electricity, but 

too much of it. As the actors declaimed their 


Girl, interrupted 

“The 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” 

Alison (left) and 

Mary: proving cars 

and Shakespeare 

don’t mix. 

opening lines, ominous rolls of thunder 

sounded in the distance. 

The company continued under the 

metallic amphitheatre without hesitation 

– the show must go on! The 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 Lear 

While those mishaps were out of my control, 

sometimes I can only blame myself. 

This summer, Harrisburg’s independent 

Midtown Cinema began showing NT 

Live screenings, starting with The National 

Theatre’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 

 



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 first 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 first three 

rows and the actors nearly spit on us for the 

entirety of Henry IV, Part 1 (spittle and all 

it was magnificent!). 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 fiascos 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. That’s Shakespeare for you. 

The loneliness of 

the long-distance 

Shakespeare fan. 

“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” 

 


Contributors 

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. 

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. 

Meet thy makers... 

Just some of the contributors to this issue of Shakespeare Magazine 

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' ¾". 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. 


Interview: The Sonnet Man 

Beats, Rhymes and Life 

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 

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.” 

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.” 

42 SHAKESPEARE magazine 

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.” 

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 hiphop 

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. 

“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”

Interview: The Sonnet Man 

In his Sonnet Man 

persona, Devon 

Glover channels the 

spirit of Shakespeare. 


Interview: The Sonnet Man 

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 

Devon hangs out 

with young fans at 

New York’s Student 

Shakespeare Festival. 

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.” 

“Shakespeare is beloved by people of all ages, and 

it’s never too late to be a student of his work” 


Interview: The Sonnet Man 

“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” 

Devon is an 

ambassador for 

both Shakespeare 

and hip-hop. 

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.” 

Why do you think Shakespeare 

has remained so popular for so 

long, and to such a diverse range 

of people – from scholars to hiphop 

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 

Thanks to Devon, 

these youngsters 

are fully sonnetsavvy. 

 

More from www.thesonnetmannyc.com 


Diary: Marin County 

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 

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 

Robert and Lesley Currier 

with their young son 

Jackson at Forest Meadows 

Amphitheatre, 1990. 

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 

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 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. 

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. 


A triumphant King John (Scott 

Coopwood) and The Bastard (Erik 

MacRay) in 2012’s production of 

King John. 



Diary: Marin County 

A recent pic 

of Robert and 

Lesley Currier, 

along with the 

guy who started 

it all, William 

Shakespeare. 

Photo: Steven 

Underwood 

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 criticallyacclaimed 

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 


Hamlet in Kosova 

Go East! 

The Globe are taking Hamlet 

to every country in the world – 

including this memorable and 

 

Balkan state of Kosova. 

Words: Tom Phillips 

Photos: Bronwen Sharp 

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. 

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 

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 

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 

 



Keith 

“When Hamlet flings out the 

question ‘Am I a coward?’ 

someone shouts back ‘Yes!’ in a 

distinctly Kosovan accent” 

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 

Bartlett as 

Old Hamlet (left) 

and Jennifer Leong 

as Ophelia. 

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 



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 

Laertes (Tom 

Lawrence) and Hamlet 

(Ladi Emeruwa) test 

each other’s mettle. 

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 

 



“While 

Xpxppp xpx px ppx 

px pxp xpp xp xpxp 

pxp xp xpp xxpp xpx 

pxpp xppx 

this is 

the cheeriest 

version of 

Hamlet I’ve 

ever seen, the 

production 

transmits a 

freshness that 

clearly goes 

down well in 

Kosova” 

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. 

John Dougall as 

Claudius. 

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 



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 

Ladi Emeruwa (left) 

alternates the role of 

Hamlet with Naeem 

Hayat. 

Right: Miranda Foster 

as Gertrude. 

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 Hamlet 

http://globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com 


Next issue 

We 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 head 

Shakespeare and the Tower of London. 

 

American Shakespeare Center 

 

We take a Bard-themed road trip to Staunton, Virginia. 

If walls could talk... 

Staging Shakespeare in historical spaces.

Shakespeare Magazine 04

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