Shakespeare Magazine 08

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

FREE 

Painting 

the Bard 

The haunting 

Shakespeare art 

of Rosalind Lyons 

Sweet 

Home 

Shakespeare’s 

Stratford-upon- 

Avon: it’s our 

essential guide! 

Issue 8 

Native 

Tongues 

The sound of 

Shakespeare 

in Scotland 

Screen 

Savers 

Video Games: 

The future of 

Shakespeare? 

Hamlet 

Shakespeare’s hottest ticket: 

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH 

is Burning at the Barbican


Hamlet 



is Burning at the Barbican

Welcome 

Welcome 

to Issue 8 of Shakespeare Magazine 

Photo: David Hammonds 

Shakespeare is our greatest, most discussed, most studied, most 

written-about author. And yet, we Shakespeare fans are often 

made to feel that the Bard is some minor, niche obsession, that 

cuts us off from what everyone else is getting excited about. 

So it’s great for us when Shakespeare becomes headline news – 

and I mean real news, as opposed to the media’s endlessly recycled 

Shakespeare non-stories. 

Which brings me to Benedict Cumberbatch’s Hamlet. Undoubtedly 

a real news story, and a real Shakespeare story, right now it feels like 

the biggest thing to hit London since Henry VIII’s fourth stag party. 

The papers have been having a field day reporting on every aspect of 

Ben’s Barbican performances. Some of it has been trivial, sure. But it’s 

also touched on interesting subjects. What is accepted theatre etiquette 

– for journalists as well as fans? Why is Hamlet such a pinnacle for 

actors? And what happens if you move its most famous speech to the 

start of the play? 

So this issue we’re unashamedly celebrating Benedict Cumberbatch’s 

Hamlet. If you’re new to Shakespeare, you probably don’t know that 

he wasn’t actually the most popular and successful playwright of his 

day. But 400 years later he’s the undisputed number one. And that’s 

definitely something to shout about. 

Enjoy your magazine. 

Pat Reid, Founder & Editor 

SHAKESPEARE magazine 3


FREE 

Painting 

the Bard 

The haunting 

Shakespeare art 

of Rosalind Lyons 

Sweet 

Home 


Stratford-upon- 

Avon: it’s our 

essential guide! 

Issue 8 

Native 

Tongues 

The sound of 


in Scotland 

Screen 

Savers 

Video Games: 

The future of 

Shakespeare? 

Contents 

Hamlet 



is Burning at the Barbican 

Shakespeare Magazine 

Issue Eight 

August 2015 

Founder & Editor 

Pat Reid 

Art Editor 

Paul McIntyre 

Staff Writers 

Brooke Thomas (UK) 

Mary Finch (US) 

Writers 

Liz Barrett 

Andrew Bretz 

Paul F Cockburn 

Rosalind Lyons 

Helen Mears 

Jen Richardson 

Chief Photographer 

Piper Williams 

Thank You 

Mrs Mary Reid 

Mr Peter Robinson 

Merchant Taylors’ School, Crosby 

Web design 

David Hammonds 

Contact Us 

shakespearemag@outlook.com 

Facebook 

facebook.com/ShakespeareMagazine 

Twitter 

@UKShakespeare 

Website 

www.shakespearemagazine.com 

6 Big Ben 

It’s the Shakespeare event 

of the Year: Benedict 

Cumberbatch is Hamlet. 

28 Painting Shakespeare 

Magical, haunting and dreamlike: 

the Shakespeare art of 

Rosalind Lyons. 

39 Bonnie Prince Billy 

You haven’t heard Shakespeare 

until you’ve heard it in the 

original Scottish… 

18 

No Place 

Like Home 

Back to where it all began: 

exploring Shakespeare’s home 

town, Stratford-upon-Avon. 

34 Killing the King 

Actor Aidan O’Reilly tells us 

how he’s preparing to play 

Shakespeare’s Richard III. 

44 

The Game’s 

Afoot 

Could the dizzying digital 

world of video games be 

 

4 SHAKESPEARE magazine

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‘Matthew Jenkinson’s careful alterations of some of Shakespeare’s 

most important plays may give us less than 50% of each play’s 

lines, but they convey far more than that percentage of each play’s 

theatrical power. Moreover, they belong 100% to the highest 

traditions of both teaching and performing Shakespeare’s plays’. 

Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the 

Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon- 

Avon, and Professor of Shakespeare 

Studies, University of Birmingham 

Order now from 

www.johncattbookshop.com 

Coming soon: Vol 3: A Midsummer 

Night’s Dream, 

Twelfth Night and 

The Tempest

Benedict Cumberbatch 

“How weary, stale, 

flat, and unprofitable 

Seem to me all the 

uses of this world!” [I, 2] 

Big 

Ben 


Benedict Cumberbatch 

Lyndsey Turner’s 2015 

production of Hamlet 

features striking set 

designs by Es Devlin. 

Perhaps the quintessentially English actor, 

Benedict Cumberbatch is taking on the 

quintessentially English poet and playwright, 

William Shakespeare. His new Hamlet 

is the fastest-selling production in London 

history, but which other Shakespeare roles 

has Benedict played? And how does he feel 

about tackling The Big One? 

Words: Helen Mears Photos: Johan Persson 

 

SHAKESPEARE magazine! 7


Benedict will be 

seen as Richard III 

in the second cycle 

of the BBC’s The 

Hollow Crown. 

Benedict Cumberbatch’s professional 

relationship with Shakespeare began early in 

his career, back in 2001. He appeared in the 

New Shakespeare Company’s productions in 

Regent’s Park, playing the King of Navarre 

in Love’s Labour’s Lost and Demetrius in A 

Midsummer Night’s Dream. As he told What’s 

On Stage in 2005, “They were my first two 

professional roles in the theatre”. In the 

interview he also stated that Shakespeare 

was his favourite all-time playwright. This 

presumably influenced his decision to return 

to Regent’s Park in 2002 for As You Like It 

and Romeo and Juliet, playing Orlando and 

Benvolio respectively. 

Shakespeare does not feature again in 

Cumberbatch’s CV. Instead he worked his 

way through acclaimed TV work such as his 

portrayal of Steven Hawking in 2004 biodrama 

Hawking, and his role as the troubled 

artist Vincent Van Gogh in 2010’s Van 

Gogh: Painted with Words, and film roles in 

Atonement (2007) and The Other Boleyn Girl 

(2008), before breaking big in 2010 with the 

BBC’s Sherlock. The programme was a worldwide 

success and propelled Cumberbatch 

onto the acting A-list. Since then he has 

featured in Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), 12 

Years a Slave (2014) and two of the Hobbit 

films (2013-14), in which he voiced the 

dragon Smaug. He also made a huge success 

of The Imitation Game (2014), in which he 

played codebreaker Alan Turing. 

Now Benedict is returning to Shakespeare 

with vengeance, with two major roles, on 

stage as tragic hero Hamlet and on BBC 

TV as arch-villain Richard III in The Hollow 

Crown: The Wars of the Roses. A taster came in 

the BBC’s Lifetime of British Drama promo 

where he beautifully recites the Seven Ages 

of Man speech from As You Like It over clips 

from classic BBC dramas past and present. 

Incredibly, Cumberbatch is himself a 

distant descendant of Richard III. The actor 

read Carol Ann Duffy’s specially-composed 

poem ‘Richard’ at his ancestor’s re-interment 

at Leicester Cathedral in March 2015. He 

felt honoured to have been involved and it 

seemed particularly apt that he was filming 

the role of Richard at the time of this 

historic event. “Having just played his very 

different Shakespearean characterisation,” 

“You wouldn’t look twice at Richard. He’s a 

very dangerous, charming, powerful man” 



he commented, “I was intrigued to see what 

the real historical event would be like, and 

to be a part of this extraordinary moment of 

remembrance. Then what really sealed the 

deal was this beautiful poem.” 

Benedict feels that the discovery of 

Richard’s remains has changed people’s 

perceptions. “I think the debate in historical 

and archaeological terms about the reality of 

him and his kingship is what’s extraordinary 

to witness now.” 

He also recognises the perilous appeal 

of Shakespeare’s Richard. “You wouldn’t 

look twice at him necessarily,” he said, “but 

once he had you in his beam… He’s a very 

dangerous, charming, powerful man.” 

Cumberbatch was boldly instrumental 

in Dame Judi Dench’s appearance in The 

Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses. He 

attended a Shakespearean workshop event 

at which the veteran actress was appearing. 

When the audience were asked if they had 

any questions, he leapt into action asking: 

“Would you like to be in Richard III with 

me?” Dame Judi, naturally, accepted. 

And fans of Sherlock will already know 

that Andrew Scott, who played criminal 

mastermind Moriarty, will also be appearing 

in The Wars of the Roses as the French King, 

Louis. 

But it’s Cumberbatch’s run as Hamlet 

Rehearsals for 

Hamlet, July 2015. 

Benedict with Martin 

Freeman (left) in the 

BBC’s Sherlock. 

at London’s Barbican that is arguably the 

Shakespeare event of 2015. It sold out in 

record time (although the venue promise 

that day tickets will be available for each 

performance) as fans worldwide fought 

for their chance to see Benedict play the 

Dane. It is clearly the fruition of a dream for 

Cumberbatch. Indeed, when asked at 2012’s 

Cheltenham Literary Festival which play he 

would choose if he could only perform one 

more stage role, he opted for Hamlet. “Every 

actor wants to have a go at it,” he said, “and I 

want to have my go at it, and I will. But we’re 

working out when and how.” 

Well, the “when and how” is right now. 

Benedict Cumberbatch’s career has come full 

circle from his first professional performance 

of Shakespeare to playing his dream role. If 

you’re lucky enough to have a ticket, you’ll 

be witnessing the most talked-about and 

feverishly-anticipated theatrical event in years. 

If not, there’s always those queues for day 

tickets. We’ll see you there. 

 

Hamlet runs at the Barbican Theatre, 

London until 31 October 


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Hamlet 

GALLERY& REVIEW 

For a generation of Cumberbatch fans, ‘Benedict at the Barbican’ is the 

most sensational and controversial Shakespeare production of a lifetime. 

Images: Johan Persson Words: Liz Barrett 

“To be, or not to be – 

that is the question” 

[III, 1] 

Controversially, the play’s most iconic 

speech was moved to the beginning. 

As we went to press, however, this 

decision had apparently been reversed. 



“’Tis in my 

memory lock’d, 

And you yourself 

shall keep the key of it” 

[I, 3] 

Ophelia (Siân Brooke) 

“A villain kills my 

father; and for that, 

I, his sole son, do this 

same villain send 

To heaven” [III, 3] 





“But in my terms 

of honour 

I stand aloof” 

[V, 2] 

Laertes (Kobna 

Holdbrook-Smith) 

Battle of the Hamlets 

Does Benedict’s Hamlet vanquish Maxine Peake’s acclaimed recent version? 

If early reviews were to be believed, the Barbican’s 

Hamlet was clearly designed for the Cumberbitch 

crowd: a tacky term used to describe female fans 

of Benedict Cumberbatch. A Hamlet-lite, so to 

speak, to appeal to a Hollywood crowd. 

What really riled one reviewer in particular was 

the moving of the ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy 

from Act 3 to the opening line of the play. An odd 

choice, yes, but, personally, I’m all for reinterpreting 

Shakespeare. 

By the time I caught the performance, three 

weeks into the run, the Barbican had already made 

the decision to return the line to its original home. 

Now the play opens to Hamlet, crouched on the 

floor, listening to Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy, before 

Horatio breaks his train of thought. 

And so begins one of the most opulent stagings of 

Shakespeare I have ever seen. While I didn’t find the 

actual performances ‘Hollywood’ in their grandeur, the 

same could not be said for the set design. Set within 

the Danish court, the stage is bathed in a haunting 

glow of candlelight as the second scene sees the royal 

family gather round a huge dining table to celebrate 

the hasty nuptials of Claudius and Gertrude. 

If anything, the set design was too detailed, and I 

often found myself mesmerised by the scenery rather 

than the live performances being enacted in front 

of me. But that’s not a criticism of the acting, rather 



“O Hamlet, speak no more! 

Thou turn’st mine eyes 

into my very soul” 

[III, 4] 

Gertrude (Anastasia Hille) 

a round of applause to the talented set designers, 

lighting crew and choreographers. (I won’t spoil it 

for anyone yet to catch it live or in the cinema, but 

there’s one particular scene right before the interval, 

with just Claudius on stage, back to the audience, 

that drew gasps from the crowd and the most 

enthusiastic mid-play applause I’ve ever heard.) 

Saying that, I was lucky enough to catch Maxine 

Peake’s Hamlet in Manchester last year, and I found 

it hard not to compare the two. The settings 

couldn’t have been more different: Peake’s in the 

centre of the Royal Exchange’s round theatre, with 

hardly any props or stage furniture, allowing the 

audience to fully immerse itself into the performance; 

Cumberbatch’s on a traditional stage surrounded by 

a movie-like set. 

While Peake brought a manic, calculating slyness 

to the role of the tragic prince, Cumberbatch’s 

Hamlet was a sensitive, intelligent, thoughtful 

interpretation, with fantastic comic timing. In fact, 

my theatre buddies and I all agreed that we’d love to 

see him in a Shakespearean comedy role, Much Ado’s 

Benedict, say. 

Ciaran Hinds’ Claudius is a much quieter 

interpretation than I’ve seen before, but it works 

well within the cast. Indeed the cast is a beautiful 

amalgamation of theatre stalwarts, young upand-comers 

(Sian Brooke as Ophelia is tragically 

captivating, her final scenes beautifully interpreted 

and realised) and big screen icons. 

What you’re left with when the final bow is taken 

is a sense of fulfilment. While I preferred Peake’s 

Hamlet, Cumberbatch delivered a truly memorable 

performance. And the man doesn’t half provide 

bang for your buck, the sweat pouring off him as he 

receives the fatal blow from Laertes’ poisoned sword. 

So a Hollywood setting, yes, but a masterful 

reinterpretation of a Shakespearean classic that will 

appeal to Cumberbatch and Bard fans alike. 

 



“And yet to me what 

is this quintessence 

of dust?” [II, 2] 

 


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Stratford-upon-Avon 

NO PLACE LIKE 


Stratford-upon-Avon 

Even more than London, there 

is one place above all that is 

 

 

 

 

 

green and pleasant land… 

Words: Helen Mears 

Pictures: Helen Mears and Susan Braund 

HOME 

 

We could be in any small, 

picturesque English 

town, with its medieval 

church, half-timbered 

Tudor buildings, shops, 

restaurants and delightful riverside walks. 

But Stratford-upon-Avon is not just any 

town. It’s one of the best-known, mostvisited 

and probably most-loved locations in 

England. That’s because it’s the birthplace of 

William Shakespeare. It’s also the place he 

seems to have considered his home. After all, 

Shakespeare grew up there, went to school 

there, and spent his final days there. 

So here is Shakespeare Magazine’s on-theground 

guide to Stratford-upon-Avon. Here 

you’ll find hints and tips for first-time visitors 

and returning aficionados alike. What to see, 

the best ways to see it, where to stay, where to 

eat, and how to get around while you’re there. 

Are you ready? Then let’s start our tour… 

The Birthplace 

Surely the must-visit spot for any selfrespecting 

Bardolator, this is where it all began 

– the six-roomed Merchant’s House on Henley 

Street where in April 1564 Mary Shakespeare, 

wife of glover John, gave birth to their famous 

son, William. The house is approached 

 



through the Shakespeare Centre on the lefthand 

side of the Birthplace. A short exhibition 

shows you items such as a prized First Folio 

and the foot of Stratford’s Old Market Cross 

from where glover John Shakespeare would 

have sold his wares. 

A walk through the gardens leads to 

the house itself. You enter through the 

self-contained annexe where William and 

Anne Shakespeare spent the first years of 

their married life, and where their children, 

Susannah, Judith and Hamnet, were born. The 

annexe was later occupied by William’s sister, 

Joan. You can walk through the parlour and 

the dining room to John’s workshop where he 

produced gloves and other leather goods. 

A staircase leads to two bedrooms, one 

for the girls, one for the boys, and a loft space 

is visible, where the apprentices would have 

slept. Finally you reach the birth room, the 

main bedroom in which William and his seven 

siblings were born. 

Guides are on-hand in all rooms to tell you 

their history and other gems of information. 

Complete your visit by watching classic 

Shakespearean speeches performed in the 

garden by resident acting troupe Shakespeare 

Aloud!, and then picking up some souvenirs in 

the gift shop and excellent bookshop. 

The birth room 

at Shakespeare’s 

Birthplace. 

Molly from 

Shakespeare Aloud! 

in the Birthplace 

garden. 

The five house ticket is the best value, giving 

you entry to all of the properties (Harvard 

House is a current alternative to New Place) 

and allowing you to view Shakespeare’s Grave 

in Holy Trinity Church. 

The Avon and Boat trips 

A walk along the Avon is a must in any season. 

The gentle stroll from the RSC to Holy Trinity 

Church will take you past drooping willows, 

smoothly sailing swans and green parkland. 

For a different perspective on the town you can 

take a boat trip along the river itself. Starting 

from near the RSC Theatre, you cruise gently 

down to the church where Shakespeare was 

baptised and buried, before turning back and 

heading past the theatre and under Clopton 

Bridge. It’s a bridge that William himself 

would have known, built as it was around 

1480. The Avon is very pretty, everywhere 

you look are the incredible tame (and always 

hungry) swans and picturesque houseboats. 

The banks are lined with weeping willows that 

just might have been the inspiration for poor 

Ophelia’s watery end in Hamlet. If you would 

rather take a slower, self-driven trip there are 

rowing boats, canoes and small speedboats 

for hire. Beware, though, these are not as 

easy to control as they look and you may well 

spend a good proportion of your allotted 

time relearning how to row and avoiding 



other hapless river traffic! Boat trips typically 

last for around 40 minutes and are especially 

pleasant in the late afternoon when the sun sets 

slowly behind the church steeple. For added 

luxury you can take a restaurant cruise where 

afternoon tea or an evening meal are served on 

board or, as a quicker, cheaper alternative, you 

could take the chain ferry across the Avon. The 

ferry dates from 1937 and is the last of its kind 

in the UK. 

Nash House and New Place 

As well as the Henley Street property, the 

Shakespeare Birthplace Trust care for four 

other locations in and around Stratford, all 

associated with William’s family. Nash House 

and New Place were adjoining properties. The 

former was the home of Judith Shakespeare 

and her husband, while the latter was the 

family home that William purchased in 1597, 

at the time the second most expensive house 

in the town. Sadly it was demolished by a 

subsequent owner but the Trust are currently 

undertaking a massive renovation of the site. 

This means that the properties will not be open 

to the public until 2016 to coincide with the 

400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. 

Holy Trinity 

Church, viewed 

from the Avon. 

Nash House and 

New Place. 

Hall’s Croft 

A brief walk from New Place will take you 

to Hall’s Croft, the home of Susannah 

Shakespeare and her husband, the physician 

John Hall. This is an interesting property in its 

own right and is partly set up to show how a 

practising physician would have worked at the 

time. A special mention too must go The Arter, 

the award winning independent craft shop 

adjoining the building, and to the beautiful 

garden in which open air performances of 

Shakespeare’s plays are sometimes performed. 

 



Anne Hathaway’s Cottage 

A short distance from Stratford is Shottery 

where you can find the beautiful cottage 

which was the home of the Hathaway family. 

Set in yet another lovely garden, this is the 

house in which Anne Hathaway grew up 

and was courted by the young William. John 

Shakespeare served with Anne Hathaway’s 

father on the town council so their children 

probably knew each other from a young age. 

The family remained associated with the 

cottage for several centuries and have spun 

many a yarn about the young lovers, the 

veracity of which are highly questionable. 

However, the stone floor of the kitchen is 

original and we know that William must have 

walked those stones many, many times. 

Mary Arden’s Farm 

The last of the Shakespeare properties is Mary 

Arden’s Farm. Shakespeare’s mother lived here, 

and it’s where she probably took the infant 

William when plague broke out in Stratford 

shortly after his birth. Open from March to 

November only, the farm is run as a working 

Anne Hathaway’s 

Cottage. 

Mary Arden’s Farm. 

Tudor farm, with costumed guides caring for 

the buildings and the animals. It’s a great place 

for a family day out, with plenty to see and do 

and numerous activities running. There are 

daily falconry shows, archery, animals to feed 

and games to play. You can even treat yourself 

to a genuine Tudor meal in the cafe – pottage 

and home-baked breads are a speciality. 

What if you don’t have a car? 

The town itself is fairly small and all the 

main attractions are within walking distance. 

However, the easiest way to get around, and to 

enable a visit to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and 

Mary Arden’s farm, is to the Hop On-Hop Off 

City Sightseeing bus. This will take you to all 

the main town locations, and also to Shottery 

and Wilmcote. A day ticket will give you 

unlimited access to the buses and allow you to 

visit all of the Shakespeare properties. The bus 

can be picked up by the statue of Touchstone 

the jester at the top end of Henley Street. 

Walking Tours 

Another excellent way to see the main sites of 

Stratford and to learn some of the historical 

tales of the town is to take a walking tour. 



There are several options depending on the 

type of tour you’d like. The town guides run 

historical tours of the town every day (yes, 

every day) of the year. For those who like to be 

a bit more daring there are evening ghost walks 

led by costumed guides who will tell you some 

of the spooky tales of Stratford. Both of these 

tours start from the Swan Water Fountain on 

the riverside. 

Or if you like the idea of being guided 

by Shakespeare himself, on a Saturday (and 

Monday to Saturday through the summer 

holidays) there are town walks led by the man 

himself (or someone who looks an awful lot 

like him!). These run from Tudor World on 

Sheep Street, an interesting museum in the 

house that belonged to the man who was, 

allegedly, the model for Sir John Falstaff. 

Holy Trinity Church 

Another must-see is the town’s 13th century 

church with its distinctive spire that dominates 

the view from the river. Remember that if you 

have a ticket to the Birthplace properties your 

visit to the grave is free. The church is famous 

for being where William Shakespeare was 

baptised on 26 April 1564. The old font that 

was used for the baptism is displayed in the 

chancel, along with copies of both the register 

of baptism for April 1564 and the register of 

burials for April 1616 where Shakespeare’s 

name can be clearly seen. Also in the chancel, 

in front of the altar, are the Shakespeare family 

graves. William’s bears its infamous curse: 

“GOOD FRIEND FOR JESUS 

SAKE FOREBEAR, 

TO DIGG THE DVST 

ENCLOSED HERE. 

BLESTE BE YE MAN YT SPARES 

THESE STONES, 

AND CURSED BE HE YT MOVES 

MY BONES.” 

On the wall above the grave is the effigy of 

Shakespeare. It’s one of the few images which 

was produced within the lifetime of Anne 

Shakespeare, and probably one of the most 

authentic likenesses of her husband. 

The Guildhall 

Doom Painting. 

The Guildhall and King Edward’s 

School 

Directly opposite the site of New Place stand 

the Guildhall and the town’s old grammar 

school. Both of these places have links to the 

Shakespeare family. King Edward’s School 

is where the young William is believed to 

have studied, and it’s probably where he 

first encountered the classical texts which so 

inspired him. As the son of a town councillor 

he would have been entitled to a place. The 

old school is sometimes open to visitors at 

weekends or during the holidays but the 

school has just won a lottery grant which 

should enable them to open it as a permanent 

attraction. The Guildhall was sometimes host 

to groups of travelling players, and so it could 

be the site where young William first saw 

theatrical performances. It is widely believed 

that John Shakespeare, owing to his role as 

town bailiff, was responsible for supervising the 

whitewashing of the medieval Doom Painting. 

 



This has been recovered and is now once again 

visible above the chancel arch. 

The Royal Shakespeare Company 

Theatre and the riverside 

The riverside park is home to several interesting 

sights. It is from here that you can get a view of 

the Clopton Bridge, pick up a river cruise, feed 

the swans and admire the Gower Memorial. 

The memorial was presented to the town in 

1888 and features a statue of Shakespeare, 

seated upon a plinth, overlooking statues of 

four of his best known characters. These are 

Hamlet, Prince Hal, Sir John Falstaff and Lady 

Macbeth, who represent Comedy, History, 

Philosophy and Tragedy. Closer to the theatre 

is the beautiful Swan Water Fountain, unveiled 

in 1996. If you see the water frothing, fear not, 

it seems to be a sport amongst local youngsters 

to fill the fountain with washing up liquid on a 

regular basis! 

The Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre 

was built in 1932 but has recently undergone 

a complete refurbishment in both the main 

and the Swan theatres. The building reopened 

The Gower 

Memorial: Will and 

Prince Hal. 

in 2010 with both theatres having been 

converted to boast thrust stages and curved 

galleries, similar in shape to the original 

Elizabethan playhouses. The world renowned 

Royal Shakespeare Company performs 

here throughout the year, staging plays by 

Shakespeare and his contemporaries as well as 

by newer authors. They also run an education 

programme, exhibitions, family activities 

during the school holidays, and theatre tours. 

To see Stratford from an entirely different 

angle, take the lift up the 36 metre high tower 

for spectacular views across the town. 

Where to eat and drink? 

Stratford has an excellent range of eateries 

to suit all tastes and budgets. There is pub 

grub, afternoon teas, world cuisine, fine 

dining, pizza, pasta, and fish and chips. Many 

restaurants offer pre-theatre menus and, if 

you’ve been on a town walk, you may find that 

you can get discount vouchers for your food. 

There are many pubs in Stratford including the 

Garrick Inn, the oldest pub in the town, where 

you can taste the Shakesbeer, specially brewed 

to celebrate Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday in 

2014. If you want to spot RSC cast members 

relaxing after their shows, The Dirty Duck on 

Waterside is the place to drink. 

Where to stay? 

Again, Stratford-upon-Avon has a good variety 

of hotels, bed and breakfasts and holiday 

homes. All the main chains have hotels in 

the town, from budget brands to the luxury 

names. There is an excellent choice of bed 

and breakfast establishments in and around 

the town; again, these will suit all tastes and 

budgets. Airbnb also has an interesting range 

of rooms, flats and houses to rent in Stratford. 

However, be sure to book early, especially for 

the prime summer months. 

 

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust: 

www.shakespeare.org.uk 


Stratford, Ontario 

MEANWHILE, 

IN CANADA... 

There’s more than just one Stratford, you know. 

And the one in Ontario, Canada has a world-renowned 

Shakespeare Festival. gives us a tour. 

Many places around the world 

have been named after 

Stratford-upon-Avon, the 

birthplace and home of William 

Shakespeare. And many of those Stratfords 

are home to theatre festivals of varying sizes. 

Stratford in the state of Victoria in Australia 

has an annual Shakespeare festival still going 

every year, while Stratford in Connecticut in 

the USA had a major theatre from the mid 

1950s to the mid 1980s. Stratford, Ontario 

in Canada, however, stands out among these 

towns and festivals not merely in scope, but in 

international reputation and prestige. 

In 1950, Canada had no home-grown 

tradition of classical theatre. Certainly, 

Shakespeare was performed, but there had 

been a strong anti-theatrical movement in 

Canada throughout the 19th century whose 

effects still lingered throughout the first half of 

the 20th. As a cultural icon, Shakespeare was 

edifying, to be sure, but certainly not to be 

performed. The Stratford Festival changed all 

of that for Canada. 

In the late 1940s, the local newspapers and 

government of the town conceived of the idea 

of revitalising Stratford’s sagging economy by 

capitalising on the name of the town and its 

“From the first performance, 

the Festival worked to 

create a new aesthetic of 

Shakespearean performance” 

long association with the Bard. They banded 

together and, under the leadership of Tom 

Patterson, they brought over Tyrone Guthrie 

and Alec Guinness for the first season in 

1953. Guthrie had famously directed Gielgud 

in Hamlet at Elsinore Castle in Denmark, 

and had been the manager of the Old Vic in 

London. He wanted to create an acting space 

that echoed the original Globe theatre, where 

actors were surrounded by the audience, in 

contrast to the proscenium arch theatres that 

dominated the London and New York scenes. 

From the first performance, which took 

place inside a giant circus-style tent on the 

banks of the Avon River, the festival worked 

to create a new aesthetic of Shakespearean 

performance. The thrust stage of the Festival 

Theatre, designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch, 

has been recognised as one of the great 

innovations in stage design of the 20th century. 

Generations of actors have had to learn how 

to address an audience on three sides of them, 

sometimes only an arm’s length away. 

The festival has been central to the careers 

of Canadian actors such as Christopher 

Plummer, Martha Henry, and even William 

Shatner. Actors from the US and UK have 

sought to play the festival as well, including 

Peter Ustinov, Christopher Walken and Jessica 

Tandy. Indeed, these international stars not 

only lend credibility, but have indelibly marked 

the festival. For instance, Maggie Smith’s 

performance as Rosalind in As You Like It in 

the 1977 and 1978 seasons is legendary in the 

company and the town. 

Today, the festival has expanded to include 

multiple performance spaces, a theatre school, 

university accredited courses, and the largest 

theatrical costume shop in North America. 

It has started countless careers, inspired 

companies such as Toronto’s Soulpepper 

Theatre, and helped shape the Canadian 

theatre landscape for over 50 years. 

 

Stratford Festival – Ontario, Canada: 

www.stratfordfestival.ca 


Planning to perform 

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“Lays the groundwork for a truly fun and sometimes magical 

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The 30-Minute Shakespeare Anthology 

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THE 30-MINUTE SHAKESPEARE is an acclaimed series of abridgments that tell the story of each play while keeping the beauty of 

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NICK NEWLIN has performed a comedy and variety act for international audiences for more than 30 years. Since 1996, he has 

conducted an annual teaching artist residency with the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. 

The 30-Minute Shakespeare series is available in print and ebook format at retailers 

and as downloadable PDFs from 30MinuteShakespeare.com.

Assembled for the first time 

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1,100 posters of Shakespeare’s plays, 

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Presenting Shakespeare: 

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Preface by Julie Taymor 

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Roaslind Lyons 


Rosalind Lyons 

Left: The 

Roaring Boys 

PAINTING 

SHAKESPEARE 

For UK artist Rosalind Lyons, the Bard is a 

constant presence in her creative life. She tells 

us how Shakespeare inspired the haunting and 

dreamlike works that adorn these pages. 

Words and paintings by Rosalind Lyons 

Shakespeare has long been at the heart of 

my work, sometimes directly and obviously 

in the subjects, and often in the titles. 

But always, Shakespeare’s words, characters 

and stories are there in my head when I 

am painting – a perpetual conscious and 

unconscious presence. 

My style echoes that of the Renaissance 

painters and Elizabethan portraits, and 

these influences, combined with a lifelong 

love of Shakespeare, made my first 

visit to Shakespeare’s Globe pivotal. I 

experienced a powerful sense of connection 

and recognition. Here, suddenly, ideas 

and themes with which I had been so long 

preoccupied were brought to life. 

I subsequently gained access to the 

Globe to draw, and later spent some time 



Right: No More 

Yielding But A 

Dream 

as Artist in Residence there. That experience 

prompted more in-depth exploration not 

only of Shakespeare and painting, but of the 

relationship between painting and theatre. 

There are, of course, the strong visual 

connections – both are spaces for spectacle 

and illusion. But also compelling ideas of 

transformation, imagination, storytelling and 

identity. And, overall, the theme of ambiguity. 

The blurring of boundaries between reality 

and fiction, male and female, light and 

shadow, past and present. I am fascinated by 

how we respond to history, how we re-present 

and re-imagine the past. And the figures in 

my paintings are imagined as belonging to 

both now and then – flitting back and forth 

across the threshold between past and present, 

between Shakespeare’s time and our own 

modern world. 

I have painted some specific characters 

from Shakespeare, but many subjects of 

my paintings are anonymous. The figures 

are unknown; their place, purpose, role is a 

mystery. This anonymity is unsettling. There 

are clues in the setting, in the costumes – or 

perhaps I should just say in the clothes they 

are wearing – but the context is not obvious. 

I am fascinated by the dramatic convention of 

cross-dressing – and particularly the inherent 

confusion, as with Rosalind (As You Like It) 

and Viola (Twelfth Night), in the idea of a 

boy playing a girl playing a boy. Many of the 

characters I invent are androgynous, their 

gender and age uncertain. This ambiguity 

of identity interests me in the context of 

visual illusion and theatrical transformation; 

the idea of inbetween-ness and something 

unresolved. 

Like theatre, my paintings are concerned 

with inventing characters and the creation 


Rosalind Lyons 

of an imaginary world, and I am particularly 

attracted to the fools, fairies and witches. 

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the fairies’ 

actions may seem malevolent or benign, or 

just mischievous, but there is definitely a dark 

side, an underlying sense of threat. 

The Fool too is intriguing. Shakespeare’s 

fools frequently describe themselves, 

or are referred to, as a nobody, but are 

unquestionably much more. The fool is an 

outsider, concerned with but at the same time 

separate from the story. He – or sometimes 

she – doesn’t quite belong anywhere, but 

seems to exist on the boundary between the 

familiar and the uncanny. 

I am attracted to the strange, to mystery 

and shadows, and try to express through my 

images a strong feeling that it could be that, 

or maybe something else. As Orsino says at 

the conclusion of Twelfth Night: “A natural 

perspective, that is and is not”. While making 

a painting, and even when it is finished, I 

don’t know really who my characters are – 

they remain elusive. But I like not knowing, 

and ultimately meanings always change, and 

depend on individual perceptions. 

My experience at the Globe led to a 

particular fascination with the ambiguous and 

protean quality of the theatrical performer; 

how their identity transforms and fluctuates. 

I was attracted by this when watching 

 

Above: A Midwinter 

Night’s Dream 

Right: Three Fools 

Far right: Following 

Darkness 



rehearsals, observing actors shift between self 

and impersonation, between different realities 

and identities. When they are not acting they 

– metaphorically and often literally – melt 

into the shadows. I am interested too in the 

physical and symbolic threshold between ‘on’ 

and ‘off’-stage, the transformation inherent 

in an actor moving from the wings onto the 

stage, assuming another self and another 

identity. Particularly evocative is the fact that 

actors were colloquially known as shadows 

in the Elizabethan playhouses – suggesting 

something unknowable and insubstantial. 

In the Prologue to Henry V, Shakespeare has 

the Chorus describe the players as ‘ciphers’, 

implying deception and secrecy. 

Artists in the past who have tackled 

Shakespeare have generally produced images 

that directly illustrate the text, or represent 

famous actors or scenes from a particular 

performance. Today, as well as on the stage, 

Shakespeare’s plays are frequently re-imagined 

in very successful film and TV adaptations, 

but I have struggled to find more than a 

handful of contemporary fine artists who 

have engaged with Shakespeare on any level. 

Perhaps Shakespeare as a subject is seen 

by some as too traditional, too ‘popular’ 

or simply just too ‘old’. But in the theatre 

and in literature, there is an ever-increasing 

enthusiasm for innovative interpretations 

of the plays, and for me Shakespeare is a 

constant inspiration. 

The Prologue of Henry V also urges the 

audience to “Piece out our imperfections with 

your thoughts”, to liberate the imagination 

and create another kind of reality, to shape 

our own fantasies within the “wooden O” of 

the theatre. In my paintings, I endeavour to 

do the same. 

Above: These Two Creatures 

Below: There’s Magic In Thy Majesty 

 

Explore the work of Rosalind Lyons at 

www.rosalindlyons.com 


!"#$%&%'(!)*#+,-./0.1

Aidan O’Reilly 

Looking for 

Richard: Aidan 

O’Reilly is playing 


baddest monarch. 


Aidan O’Reilly 

Killing 

Aidan O’Reilly is an actor with an 

inspiring story. Legally blind since he 

was six months old, he forged a passion 

for drama at an early age. Aidan went 

on to gain a BA with honours from 

London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic 

Art, before touring for three years with 

the American Shakespeare Center. 

In 2012, Aidan was diagnosed with 

sarcoma, a rare cancer. He bounced 

back in 2014 after intensive treatment, 

and is now cancer-free. We spoke to 

Aidan as he prepared to play the title 

role in Richard III for California’s Marin 

Shakespeare Company. We asked him 

to share his story, and to give us his 

take on one of Shakespeare’s most 

fascinating characters. 

Interview by Jen Richardson 

the 

King 

You are legally blind, having been 

diagnosed with retinoblastoma as an 

infant. How did this impact on your 

acting aspirations and early career? 

“My parents did a good job raising me. I 

never grew up thinking of it as a handicap, or 

thinking it could hold me back from what I 

wanted to do. I couldn’t play sports at all, so 

I think my parents were grateful that I had 

something that I was passionate about from a 

very young age. 

“I went to a public elementary school 

with a program designed for the blind, so it 

felt very natural for me to be the way that I 

was. And acting has always been part of that.” 

You went to RADA in London. Was 

there a reason why you wanted to 

train in England and not in the US? 

“It’s always been an ambition of mine to 

travel as far and wide as possible. Also, my 

hero growing up was Peter O’Toole – I 

read his autobiography in high school and 

learned he had gone to RADA, and decided I 

wanted to go there too. So I auditioned there, 

not knowing that RADA is arguably the 

best drama school in the English-speaking 

world. Consequently, I was quite relaxed at 

the audition which is probably why I got 

in. My ignorance can sometimes serve me 

well. Going to RADA was a life-changing 

 


Aidan O’Reilly 

“Peter O’Toole was 

my hero. He went to 

RADA so I wanted to 

go there too” 

Three years ago, you were diagnosed 

with sarcoma. How did you 

overcome this enormous challenge 

and return to the stage in 2014? 

“The only reason I’m still alive is because of 

my mother, Lily, and my wife, Jocelynn. Also, 

I was fortunate that we caught it before it had 

spread and it was on my leg and away from 

any major organs. 

“I am very grateful for my team of doctors 

at UCSF who did an incredible job in my 

treatment and follow-up care. I’m glad to be 

back to work.” 

experience. I was lucky enough to have 

contact with brilliant professors, and I’m still 

in awe of the students I went to school with. 

I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.” 

After graduating from RADA, you 

went on the road with the American 

Shakespeare Center. Tell us a bit 

about that. 

“That was one of the happiest times of my 

life. In many ways, I got spoiled. I was a 

working actor 11 months out of the year, 

touring nationally, seeing parts of the US 

I had never been to before, doing plays I 

loved and working with directors who were 

vehemently faithful and respectful to the text. 

When I wasn’t on the road, I was in residence 

at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton, 

Virginia with many extraordinary actors. 

I was very lucky to be there.” 

Aidan believes 

that Richard III’s 

obsession with 

control is what 

causes his downfall. 

You’re now due to play Richard III 

with Marin Shakespeare Company. 

How’s it going so far? 

“At this point, I’m in the paperwork stage 

of things. A lot of reading, the Henry 

VIs, biographies of Richard, as well as 

performance history of the play itself. I’m 

doing a fair amount of limping around my 

apartment as well. I can’t wait to get into 

rehearsals next week.” 

Tell us about Marin Shakespeare 

Company and what appealed to you 

about working with them. 

“Robert and Lesley [Currier, MSC’s Artistic 

Director and Managing Director] are 

fascinating people. Their intelligence and 

humour is contagious. Without question, 

there is a lot to be learned from them.” 

Richard III’s remains were discovered 

in 2012, and reburied this year. Is all 

the new information about Richard 

influencing your portrayal? 

“Yes and no. My job isn’t to play the historical 

Richard, but the Richard that Shakespeare has 


Aidan O’Reilly 

created. It’s helpful to know the facts of the 

situation in order to gain insight into what 

has been changed in Shakespeare’s version 

of events. 

“I met with a friend of mine who is a 

retired surgeon who walked me through the 

medical information that has come to light 

on Richard’s body, and I will certainly use 

that to inform my physical choices.” 

Unlike many actors, you’re the right 

age to play the historical Richard III. 

Do you feel Richard’s relative youth 

has been overlooked? 

“I do. Richard is a young man who believes 

he is hardened by the experiences he and 

his family endured during the War of the 

Roses, and believes himself to be beyond 

human emotions and the ‘restrictions’ of a 

conscience. He isn’t. He pays the bill for the 

horrible things he does. That lack of selfknowledge 

is not exclusive to youth, but I feel 

it makes him more sympathetic and relatable 

to an audience.” 

Some people think Richard III shows 

Shakespeare delivering a highly 

effective piece of Tudor propaganda. 

Where do you stand on that? 

“I think Shakespeare has a soft spot for 

outsiders and underdogs. Although his plays 

sometimes work within the confines of the 

biases of Elizabethan society, he can’t help but 

make his ‘villains’ fascinating human beings. 

Crowning glory: 

Aidan with Marin 


Robert Currier. 

For as horrible as Richard is, it’s amazing to 

see how audiences relate and respond to him.” 

Which other important themes do 

you feel Shakespeare deals with in 

the play? 

“The history plays are full of extraordinary 

people who waste their lives and intelligence, 

who sacrifice their humanity in pursuit of the 

crown. It’s still happening today. What is the 

attraction of power? Richard never pauses to 

think of why he wants the crown, or if he’d 

be any good as king. Turns out he’s not, but 

it’s this bizarre obsession with control that 

propels him to kill everyone off that’s in his 

way. It’s also fascinating that the one character 

that is consistently kind to Richard is his 

father, York. 

“I think an argument can be made that 

Richard, in his warped way, is trying to live 

up to the image he has of his father. Of 

course, York is dead and gone by the time 

Richard III begins, but you can glean a lot 

about Richard’s inner workings in the way he 

speaks about his father. Of course, it’s foolish 

to try to answer questions that Shakespeare 

doesn’t, and I’m not trying to say this solves 

a mystery, but I think it’s interesting. It’s only 

an element, it’s not the answer.” 

Richard III is listed as a historical 

play in the First Folio, but in the 

quarto edition it is termed a tragedy. 

Which category would you put the 

play in, and why? 

“I think of the history plays from Richard II 

to Richard III as one vast play, an epic that 

encompasses all the categories. I think if you 

look at Richard’s progression through those 

plays, you see a great mind warped by the 

War of the Roses and that certainly adds to 

the tragic element. I think of Richard III as 

the final chapter of a great epic.” 

 

Aidan O’Reilly stars in Marin Shakespeare 

Company’s Richard III from 4-27 September 


Scotland Shakes 

Brian Ferguson 

as Hamlet in the 

Citizens Theatre 

production. Photo 

by Tim Morozzo. 

Bonnie 

Prince 

Billy 

William Shakespeare is undoubtedly England’s 

Bard. But how is he viewed north of the border? 

Our Caledonian correspondent surveys the state 

of Shakespeare in Scotland, and meets esteemed 

outdoor theatre company Bard in the Botanics. 

Words: Paul F CockburnT 

owards the end of May this 

year, a BBC Scotland afternoon 

news bulletin surprisingly 

turned its attention to a 

forthcoming production of 

“one of William Shakespeare’s best loved 

plays” – A Midsummer Night’s Dream. 

However, this particular production wasn’t 

considered newsworthy because it came from 

an amateur group based in Dumfries and 

Galloway. Not even that the Crossmichael 

Drama Club were one of just seven amateur 

Scottish groups taking part in the Royal 

Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages project, 

which aims to help amateur companies 

extend their repertoires. 

No, the ‘hook’ was how this new 

production was Shakespeare, “but no as 

you micht ken it”. Because it had been 

reimagined, in Scots, as A Midsimmer 

Nicht’s Dreme. 

As it happens, writer John Burns says 

that his principle reason for translating A 

Midsimmer Nicht’s Dreme was simply the 

intuition that it being in Scots would work 

to the benefit of the production. “It’s not 

 


Scotland Shakes 

so much that 16th century English can’t do 

certain things, more that using Scots brings it 

closer to a Scottish audience, and to audiences 

who might think Shakespeare too fancy,” he 

says. “I feel too that Scots can catch the sheer 

physical power of Shakespeare’s language. He 

writes lines you really feel physically when 

you say them out loud. My intention was to 

use Scots to produce a text that was actable, 

and which would be accessible and enjoyable 

for the audience, and the Scots was a major 

part of that.” 

Arguably, translating Shakespeare into 

Scots – viewed by many as a distinct language 

from English – is just one way of finding the 

continued relevancies of Shakespeare’s writing 

with the here and now. Certainly, John Burns 

was keen to see if Scots “could match the way 

Shakespeare switches tone… from broad, at 

times bawdy, humour to moments that are 

more serious or even sinister.” 

Yet there is a wider perspective, whether 

we’re discussing translation into Scots or 

saying Shakespeare’s words with a Scottish 

accent. Willy Maley and Andrew Murphy, 

in their introduction to Shakespeare and 

Scotland (published by Manchester University 

Press in 2004), go as far as describing the 

translation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth into 

A tartan-clad 

Antipholus and 

Dromio in Bard in 

the Botanics’ The 

Comedy of Errors. 

Brian Ferguson’s 

Hamlet, Citizens 

Theatre production. 

Photo by Tim 

Morozzo. 

Scots as “a patriotic act”, not least because 

of “the political commitment implicit in 

translating from English to Scots, reversing 

the dominant dubbing practice in films.” 

Glasgow-based novelist and playwright 

Alan Bissett – who actively campaigned for 

a Yes vote during last year’s Independence 

Referendum – has since written about how, 

since the 1970s, Scottish theatre had “a 

deep engagement with the shifting beast 

of Scottish politics”. Although Bissett was 

focusing primarily on original works by 

Scottish playwrights and directors, it’s worth 

pointing out that Shakespeare – despite there 

being absolutely no evidence to prove he ever 

travelled north of Carlisle – has played his 

own part in this. 

As Maley and Murphy point out: 

“Scotland… never had precisely the same 

relationship with the Bard as England has, 

but has experienced a fraught process of 

appropriation, incorporation, and resistance.” 

In part, this is because Shakespeare – in his 

latter career – was among the first ‘British’ 

writers. Many of his later plays – Cymbeline, 

King Lear, even Hamlet – were produced 



under the patronage of Scotland’s King James 

VI (aka James I of England). Each, in their 

own way, can be said to touch on “the matter 

of Britain”, the complex relationship between 

the constituent elements of James’s new 

‘united’ kingdom, which the Stuart monarch 

was determined to see joined into one. 

That never quite happened, of course. 

Even after the 1707 Act of Union, 

Scotland retained its own legal, educational 

and religious systems, along with an 

accompanying sense of Scottish identity – 

which survived even the height of the British 

empire. Yet from the 1970s on, there have 

been notable changes in how Shakespeare 

is treated by Scotland’s producing theatre 

companies. Several years ago, Glasgow’s 

Citizens Theatre delivered a powerful Romeo 

and Juliet in part because of their decision to 

set the action in a present-day, sectarian West 

of Scotland – with accents to match. 

“English-accented Shakespeare carries 

a specific resonance in Scotland, one that 

directors usually choose to avoid,” points 

out Mark Fisher, a freelance journalist, critic 

and author of the forthcoming book How to 

Write About Theatre. 

“I’m not sure exactly when attitudes 

started to change, but I’d say the argument 

in favour of Scottish-accented productions 

had been pretty much won by the 1990s. 

By that time, companies such as Raindog 

and directors such as Hamish Glen had 

been making a point of casting very Scottish 

productions of Shakespeare.” 

One example of how things had 

progressed, even by 1992, was the late Kenny 

Ireland’s production of A Midsummer 

Night’s Dream, his first as Artistic Director 

at Edinburgh’s Royal Lyceum. “He cast 

the mechanicals with Scottish accents and 

everyone else with English accents,” Mark 

Fisher explains. “This, I said in my review, was 

a fundamental error – or some such phrase. 

The message it sent out was that people with 

Scottish accents were foolish figures of fun, 

whereas people with English accents were 

serious figures of respect. 

“Ireland reacted furiously to my review 

Owen Whitehaw 

as the Fool and 

David Hayman as 

Lear in Citizens 

Theatre’s King Lear. 

Photo by Tim 

Morozzo. 

and made the case that he had based the 

casting of the mechanicals around (the actor) 

Andy Gray, who has a Scottish accent. In 

other words, the meaning I inferred had 

not been deliberate. I think it’s true to say, 

however, that Ireland never cast a Shakespeare 

like that again.” 

Gordon Barr is Artistic Director of 

Glasgow-based Bard in the Botanics, 

Scotland’s only professional Shakespeare 

company (see following pages). 

“We’ve never gone out of our way to 

make Scottish versions of these texts, nor 

have we gone out of our way to have classical 

traditional voices,” he says. “Most of our core 

actors have made their careers up here, so we 

think of them as Scottish actors. 

“That is important to us, to not overly 

look outwards for the acting company. As 

much as possible, we work with people 

who are based in Scotland. We’re regularly 

producing Shakespeare here, and we want to 

be a part of the training to ensure that there is 

a range of strong classical actors here.” 

 

Citizens Theatre 

www.citz.co.uk 


Scotland Shakes 

Out 

of the 

Garden 

This year has seen Glasgow’s Bard in the Botanics 

do something completely unexpected. They went 

out on a tour of – whisper it! – indoor venues… 

is something that 

we have wanted to do for 

years, but was something 

“Touring 

that we could not afford 

to do without funding,” says Gordon Barr, 

Artistic Director of Scotland’s only professional 

outdoor Shakespeare festival, Bard in the 

Botanics. If there’s any irony attached to 

the company’s first major tour of Scotland, 

which took place in early 2015, it’s that the 

performances of their acclaimed Romeo and 

Juliet – featuring a cast of five – were played 

exclusively indoors. 

“Nobody is touring classical theatre in 

Scotland at the minute, so it’s important 

to us,” Barr adds. “Our work is so much 

about accessibility. One of the joys of being 

outdoors is that people come to see the work 

who wouldn’t buy a ticket for a theatre. If 

you can bring a picnic, sit out on the grass 

while watching the show, it feels easier, more 

accessible. But people can’t come from Thurso 

to Glasgow for a night just to see a production 

of Shakespeare. They should be able to see it 

in Thurso. So that is kind of where the urge to 

tour came from.” 

Bard in the Botanics has presented outdoor 

Shakespeare within the grounds of Glasgow’s 

Botanic Gardens since 2003. This year’s 

‘Unlikely Wonders’ season presented new 

productions of Love’s Labour’s Lost, 

The Merchant of Venice, Richard II and 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream in ‘rep’ between 

24 June and 1 August. 

The company’s founder Scott Palmer, 

Barr explains, had done a lot of his training at 

the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, one of the 

Bard in the 

Botanics’ As You Like 

It takes Rosalind and 

Orlando into the 

open air. 

biggest in North America. “With the kind 

of drive and enthusiasm that only Americans 

have, he managed to convince the entire city 

of Glasgow that outdoor Shakespeare would 

work, and that the weather wasn’t going to be 

a problem!” 

Two years later, Palmer moved on and Barr 

– originally involved as a director – succeeded 

him as Artistic Director. “If anyone then had 

said that I would end up spending 12 years 

running an outdoor Shakespeare festival, I 

wouldn’t have believed them,” he says, in his 

office hidden behind some of the Botanics’ 

gardening sheds. “I very quickly fell in love 

with it once I started working here. Despite 

all the trials and tribulations that outdoor 

theatre in Scotland brings with it, there’s just 

something magical and special about it. It’s a 

very close-knit company, and that’s sort of kept 

us all here as long as we have been.” 

While the annual summer season of 

Shakespeare plays in the Botanics will remain 

at the centre of what the company does – 

“Otherwise, Bard in the Botanics becomes 

a rather strange name” – Barr is very much 



focused on building on the touring side. 

“Because it was our first ever tour, we 

did end up taking Romeo and Juliet to the 

established Scottish touring circuit,” he adds. 

“It takes a while to build up relationships 

with the smaller venues; that’s going to be 

an ongoing process for us. Even so, we were 

taking Romeo and Juliet to places like Mull 

and Stranraer – communities and venues that 

haven’t had a lot of classical theatre coming 

through them.” 

The choice of play was deliberate too. “It 

was a production that was ready to go, which 

had received five star reviews and sold out its 

extended run in the Botanics in 2012. So we 

knew that the work was good, but there’s no 

doubt that, for a first tour, we wanted to make 

it easier for the venues to sell it. Most venues 

know they can find an audience for Romeo and 

Juliet.” 

In time, he hopes that audiences around 

the rest of Scotland will come to trust the Bard 

in the Botanics name sufficiently to take on the 

less familiar plays. 

“You just don’t know how quickly a 

community is going to turn out for Henry IV 

yet,” he says. “Hopefully, three or four tours 

down the line, they’re going to turn out for 

Bard in the Botanics – and if it happens to be 

Rosalind and Audrey 

in the forest: Bard 

in the Botanics’ 

As You Like It. 

Henry IV, well, that’s great.” 

Given their reimagining of A Midsummer 

Night’s Dream as a 1920s burlesque musical, 

is there a particular Bard in the Botanics 

approach to Shakespeare? 

“Our kind of unofficial motto is: ‘Be Bold, 

Be Brave’,” Barr says. “If we’re continuing 

to stage these plays around 400 years after 

Shakespeare’s death, I think there’s an urgency 

to ask ‘Why?’ It is important to question 

‘What is the story that we want to tell?’ I want 

to see how these plays intersect with history 

and today’s society, not to present museum 

pieces. 

“It’s always with an eye to try to release 

something that’s within the text,” Barr 

insists. “We’re not remotely interested in 

innovation for innovation’s sake. The plays 

are masterpieces, that’s essentially why we’re 

still doing them 400 years later. But to reveal 

something that’s unexpected or new, that’s 

important to us.” 

 

Bard in the Botanics 

www.bardinthebotanics.co.uk 


Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory stf 2016 Season 

co-production with Tobacco Factory Theatres 

ALL’S WELL THAT ENDS WELL 

By William Shakespeare 

Directed by Andrew Hilton 

Main run Thu 31 March – Sat 23 April 2016 

In repertoire with Hamlet 

Thu 28 – Fri 29 April; Sat 30 April 

Dorothea Myer 

Bennett in Richard III 

HAMLET 

By William Shakespeare 

Directed by Andrew Hilton 

Main run Thu 11 February – Sat 26 March 2016 

In repertoire with All’s Well That Ends Well 

Mon 25 – Wed 27 April; Sat 30 April 2016 

The most famous play in world drama, Hamlet 

turns a new face to every decade. So many 

elements - political, madness, sex, murder – all 

brought together in a drama that is both a thriller 

and the profoundest meditation on our human 

condition. 

“Thrilling work” The Guardian on Romeo & Juliet 

“Bullseye” WhatsOnStage on Romeo & Juliet 

A young woman, using skills bequeathed her 

by her father, saves the French King’s life and 

is rewarded with the right to choose her own 

husband. But what if the chosen one won’t play 

the game? How can she get him into bed? How 

can she make him love her? 

“... There is something approaching real 

magic here.” The Arts Desk on The School for Scandal 

Benjamin Whitrow 

and Julia Hills in The 

School For Scandal 

Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory Friends Priority Booking opens Wed 23 September 10am 

www.stf-theatre.org.uk 

Photos: Mark Douet 

Tobacco Factory Theatres Members Priority Booking opens Wed 16 September 10am 

www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com 

Public Booking opens Wed 30 September 10am 

Tobacco Factory Box Office: 0117 902 0344

“For the apparel 

oft proclaims the man.” 

– Polonius (Hamlet) 

At Scribbelicious we are all about the words! 

Wear your love for literature on your sleeve and 

close to your heart. 

Made in our studio at the bottom of Hope Mountain in North Wales, 

each of the real page fragment pendants is unique, made from salvaged old 

books, many over a century old. The beautiful old paper is sealed under 

glass and placed inside silver-plated, bronze or sterling silver settings. 

We also turn Shakespeare’s words into eye-catching designs, which are 

printed onto specialist paper and sealed under glass. 

Our Shakespeare jewellery can be found at the Royal Shakespeare 

Company gift shop in Stratford-upon-Avon and at Shakespeare’s Globe in 

London, as well as online at www.scribbelicious.com. 

Please contact us if you would like to discuss a custom order. 

Email: info@scribbelicious.com

Shakespeare video games 

Having conquered 

Hollywood and vanquished 

the global entertainment 

industry, video games now 

 

on our culture. So where 

does the Bard stand in all of 

this? We sent a Shakespeare 

scholar to investigate… 

Words: Andrew Bretz 

The 

Game’s 

Silent Hill is one 

big-name game 

which includes 


references. 

Afoot! 


Shakespeare video games 

When you walk into 

the wood panelled 

Victorian Gothicism 

of the Gail Kern Paster 

Reading Room at the 

Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington 

DC, video games are probably the last 

thing on your mind. Buried deep within 

the archives, however, are a set of fragile 

cardboard figures printed in Germany in the 

early 1800s representing each of the main 

characters of Macbeth . 

Nineteenth century German children 

would play with these figures on small 

cardboard stages, no bigger than a dollhouse. 

They could replicate the story as it was told 

in Shakespeare, or use their imagination to 

change the ending, letting Lady Macbeth 

survive and bringing Duncan back from the 

dead, if they so chose. The limits of the game 

were the limits of their imagination. 

Today, the ‘gamification’ of Shakespeare 

is a big business, from Ryan North’s chooseyour 

-own-adventure edition of Hamlet, 

To Be Or Not To Be, to IDW Games’s 

upcoming Kill Shakespeare board game, 

based on the comic of the same name. 

Gamifying Shakespeare is filtering into 

schools, libraries, and the theatrical world 

as well, with the University of California at 

Davis, the Stratford Festival in Ontario, the 

Globe Theatre in London and the London 

Metropolitan Archives all experimenting with 

video game elements in exhibits, productions 

and research. 

Why video games? In a sense, this is the 

logical next step in the media development of 

Shakespeare. He’s everywhere in other media: 

books, movies, merchandise. But video 

games? The answer for that depends on who 

you ask... 

Storytelling 

Occasionally, individuals or publishing 

houses develop video games that try to tell 

the story of, say, Hamlet , yet this is relatively 

rare. One example would be Elsinore, a timelooping 

narrative adventure game set in the 

world of the play. Players play the game as 

German cardboard 

 

Macbeth dating 

from the early1800s. 

Hamlet reimagined: 

Ryan North’s To Be 

Or Not To Be. 

Ophelia, who wakes up knowing that in four 

days the entire court will be dead and she 

must do something to stop it. The problem 

is that she is stuck in a time loop, reliving the 

same four days over and over again. 

That said, Shakespeare’s presence in the 

video game industry tends to be focused on 

citation rather than adaptation of the plays. 

That is, video games for Xbox, Playstation, 

and other popular gaming systems often 

just cite Shakespeare’s plays as a part of a 

common cultural heritage. These games don’t 

restage, say, Hamlet , but they quote the play. 

In these cases, Shakespeare is used to establish 

a point of identification for the audience. His 

writing tells the audience something about 

the character or the situation. 

Given that audiences are supposed 

to be able to identify the quotations as 

Shakespearean, it is unsurprising that Hamlet 

is the most popular text for game designers to 

cite. In The Elder Scrolls Online, for instance, 

a merchant NPC (non -player character) 

quotes Polonius when players interact, saying 

“Neither a borrower nor a lender be”. The 

words establish the NPC’s role as a merchant, 

while fitting the medieval world of the 

game. In the game LA Noire , upon picking 

up a fake shrunken head at a crime scene, a 

detective leaps into high melodrama with, 

“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him Horatio”. The 

quotation and the clever voice acting establish 



the character’s strait -laced, yet macabre, sense 

of humour. 

Sometimes citing Shakespeare is a part 

of a critique of a larger theme. In the game 

Mass Effect , the Elcor are a race of elephantine 

aliens who preface all statements with a 

description of the emotion they are feeling 

and who speak in a slow, monotonous drone. 

As players interact with the expansive world 

they can discover a number of advertisements 

for an all-Elcor Hamlet. The idea of the 

Elcor actor – the ultimate in a flat, wooden 

performer – having to preface “To be or not 

to be” with “morose rumination” goes beyond 

the simple humour of a bad Shakespeare 

performance. It subtly asks what it is about 

acting (and especially voice acting) that is 

valuable. 

Shakespeare can appear in video games, 

not merely as a marker or contextualisation 

tool, but as a part of a puzzle. For example, in 

the game Silent Hill 3 , players must arrange a 

set of Shakespeare anthologies on a bookshelf 

in an abandoned shopping mall in order to 

proceed in the game. At the hardest level, 

the puzzle clue takes the form of a poem 

that references all the major tragedies: Romeo 

and Juliet , King Lear , Macbeth , Othello and, 

of course, Hamlet . The bloody nature of the 

tragedies fits with the bloody nature of the 

Silent Hill series of games, which fall into the 

survival horror genre. 

Popular video games have also served 

as the inspiration for games that engage 

with Shakespeare in a more direct way. For 

Four days to save 

the Danish court: 

Elsinore. 

Another Hamlet 

reference, this time 

in LA Noire. 

example, Daniel Fischlin at the University 

of Guelph in Ontario, Canada led a team 

that created a Flash game called ’Speare . It’s 

a scrolling arcade -style game suggesting the 

’80s hit Galaga , which sees players identifying 

and navigating through a series of enemies 

who turn into words upon being destroyed. 

The player progresses through the levels 

by collecting the correct words to create 

Shakespearean quotes, learning Shakespearean 

trivia along the way. 

Immersion 

One of the most exciting aspects of video 

games is the ability to immerse the player in 

the world of the game in a way that other 

media simply cannot do. Being able to walk 

around Prospero’s cell, Juliet’s balcony, or 

to stand before the ghost of Hamlet’s father 

as he cries out “List, list, O list!” – these 

experiences are made possible through video 

game technology. 

Students of Scenic Arts at the University 

of Hildesheim in Germany created Projekt 

ARIEL or SturmMOD in 2008, using a ‘mod’ 

(or modification) to the engine that runs 

the game Far Cry 1 . The performance art 

project allowed users to experience Prospero’s 

island, interacting with certain parts and 

exploring others. Players could walk around 

an imaginative rendition of Prospero’s cell and 

witness or interact with elements of the play 

including different characters like Caliban, 

Prospero and Miranda. 


Shakespeare video games 

Gina Bloom at the University of California 

at Davis is presently spearheading a project 

that will be demonstrated in the lobby of the 

Stratford Festival theatre in Ontario, Canada 

this summer. The project, Play the Knave: A 

Shakespeare Performance Videogame, lets users 

design a virtual performance space and then 

perform a scene from a Shakespeare play, 

inhabiting this constructed space with an 

avatar. As a Davis insider explains: “We use a 

kinect motion capture camera to capture the 

user’s skeletal data so that players use their 

entire bodies to control their avatar’s gestures 

onscreen, all the while reciting the lines from 

Shakespeare’s scene”. This literally immerses 

the players in the scene. 

Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London 

took another tactic regarding immersion 

in the production of the game Hemmings’ 

Play Company . Hosted on the Playground 

portion of the Globe’s website, and thus 

aimed at an audience of children, the game 

has players taking on the role of Hemmings, 

an Elizabethan bear, who leads a troupe of 

theatrical animals such as Kit the Cat, Dekker 

the Dog, and Slye the Fox. 

The turn-based game leads players through 

the vagaries of Elizabethan theatre practice, 

from patronage to lost props and the plague. 

By the end of the game, players must earn 

enough money to rebuild the Globe after it 

burns down during a performance of Henry 

VIII . 

Also from Shakespeare’s Globe are two 

innovative video experiences created for 

children aged five to 11. The first, Exploring 

Silent Hill 3: Brush up 

your Shakespeare if 

you want to survive. 

Hemmings’ Play 

Company from 


Globe. 

Shakespeare , features two boys on a tour of 

the Globe theatre who sneak off to explore 

backstage. The video illustrates four plays 

using short animations that are keyed 

to things the boys find backstage. The 

technology combines live action film and 

animation to create an interactive, touchable 

game. Filled with mini -games, quizzes and 

interesting facts about Shakespeare, the game 

allows players to click through the narrative 

or to stop and learn more as they go along. 

The second video, called Staging It , uses 

the same technology as the first film, but this 

time is for the 11-16 age group. In this game, 

The Globe has filmed two actors performing 

famous duologues from A Midsummer 

Night’s Dream and Macbeth on the Globe 

stage. Rather than shoot it once, the actors 

have performed their lines in different ways 

(happy, flirtatious, defensive and so on), 

creating several different clips per line. 

Players can watch each of the clips and add 

their choice to a dynamic storyboard to 

build up their final scene. Impressively, the 

platform allows for up to 1,000,000 different 

combinations of clips. 

Apps and Mini-Games 

It’s when you start to look outside of the 

realm of popular video game platforms 

like Xbox or Playstation, that Shakespeare 



really starts to pop up wherever you look. 

The ubiquity of Shakespeare is especially 

noticeable when you start to look at apps and 

mini -games designed for phones and tablets. 

In 2012, Big Fish Games released an 

iPhone and iPad game called Hamlet! 

that featured all the main characters of 

Shakespeare’s play, but transposed them into 

a save -the -princess narrative puzzle game. 

A time traveller lands in Denmark and 

accidentally kills Hamlet, and so players must 

complete his journey for him, saving Ophelia 

and killing Claudius. The Shakespearean 

content is minimal and heavily adapted, and 

yet it fits with the puzzle format in which 

Shakespeare tends to be found in video 

games. 

The Chronicles of Shakespeare: Romeo & 

Juliet and The Chronicles of Shakespeare: A 

Midsummer Night’s Dream are lusciouslyillustrated 

puzzle games for the PC. In them, 

players act as one of the characters from the 

plays, gathering items and clues through a 

Shakespearean environment. 

Among the literally thousands of apps 

related to Shakespeare that can be found for 

the iPad or Android tablet are: 

The Shakespearean Insult Creator, 

which generates invectives drawn from a 

wholly Shakespearean vocabulary. So, next 

time you want to call someone a jerk, try 

something more like “Thou fusty, folly fallen, 

fustilarian!” 

The Shakespeare Translator, which 

translates “normal English words and phrases 

into the words of Shakespeare himself.” 

The Shakespeare Fortune Cookie, 

which provides short quotes from the plays 

and a small trivia game. 

Shakespeare or Die, a game that 

scrambles the words of famous quotations 

from the plays and asks you to identify the 

play and character who spoke the line. If you 

make a mistake, however, beware the witches! 

These apps are either explicitly games or 

they are coming out of a game -like impulse to 

make Shakespeare more accessible to everyone 

with an internet connection. 

Hamlet! is a 

Shakespearethemed 

puzzle from 

Big Fish Games. 

’Speare is a scrolling 

arcade-style 

game with added 

Shakespeare trivia. 

Brave New Worlds? 

In a world where Shakespeare is an industry 

counted in the millions of dollars per year, 

it is so easy to forget that Shakespeare’s plays 

are just that – plays. There is a sense of joy 

and fun and happiness embedded in the 

experience of watching them. Games are one 

of the ways that people over the centuries 

have tried to recapture that elusive sense of 

playfulness within Shakespeare. So it makes 

perfect sense that now, with the advent of 

digital technologies, Shakespeare is moving 

into the digital world with a vengeance. 

From big studio games like The Elder 

Scrolls to small apps that can be downloaded 

for free, from talking bears to immersive 

performance experiences, Shakespeare is 

everywhere in video games. Rather than being 

an undiscovered country into which the Bard 

is only just beginning to emerge, games have 

in fact engaged with Shakespeare and his 

works for hundreds of years. And they will 

probably continue to do so for hundreds of 

years to come. 

 


The Folger Shakespeare Library is the world’s largest repository of Shakespeareana 

and English Renaissance books, manuscripts, and objets d’art. Nobody alive knows 

 

it for 25 years. That’s why he is the perfect candidate to pull off an inside job and 

heist from the library’s underground bank vault a priceless artifact that can rock the 

foundation of English Literature... 

“Peterson’s novel is a lush tale of noir 

fiction in the spirit of the appealing 

thief utilizing all his wits against 

almost insurmountable odds.” 

Literary Fiction Book Review 

Published in the USA by Ram Press 

Available in paperback, Kindle, Audible Audio, and iTunes Editions 

On sale at Amazon.com, B&N, Books-A-Million, Indie Bound, et al

Contributors 

Helen Mears fell into bardolatry 

during her teenage years and has 

never recovered. She is a volunteer 

steward at Shakespeare’s Globe, 

which ensures a regular diet of the 

Bard. She teaches English, Film and 

Media at Suffolk New College and is 

a specialist in teaching Shakespeare 

using active methods. Her favourite 

Shakespearean actor is Jamie Parker 

and her favourite plays are the Second 

History Tetralogy. She hopes to 

finish her Masters in the Advanced 

Teaching of Shakespeare very soon. 

Find her on Twitter @hipster_hels 

Paul F Cockburn is an Edinburghbased 

freelance magazine journalist 

who specialises in writing about 

arts and culture, equality issues and 

popular science. He’s sufficiently 

grey-haired for his English Literature 

training to have sort of overlapped 

with The BBC Television Shakespeare 

project, saving at least some of the 

plays from death by academia. 

Find him on Twitter @paulfcockburn 

Rosalind Lyons is a painter who 

has exhibited widely in both mixed 

and solo shows, with work in UK 

and international private collections. 

A life-long love of Shakespeare is 

reflected in many of her paintings, 

and a particular recent focus is 

Shakespeare’s Globe theatre where she 

spent a period as artist-in-residence. 

She is currently studying for a PhD 

in Painting and Shakespearean 

Theatre at Anglia Ruskin University 

in Cambridge. 

Find her on Twitter @roslyons 

Meet thy makers... 

Just some of the contributors to this issue of Shakespeare Magazine 

Jen Richardson first fell in love with 

Shakespeare as a 15-year-old schoolgirl: 

“He got under my skin, and he’s still there 

today”. After training with a Manchesterbased 

drama tutor, she went on to pursue 

an acting career. Drama remains a great 

interest, but her focus is now on sharing 

her passion for Shakespeare through 

her writing. In her spare time, Jen is 

generally down in Stratford-upon-Avon, 

sitting on her favourite bench behind 

Holy Trinity Church. 

Find her on Twitter @The_JenJen 

Andrew Bretz is a sessional instructor 

of English Literature and Drama, 

specialising in early modern drama. 

He has taught at Wilfrid Laurier 

University, the University of Guelph, 

Brock University and McMaster 

University. For the past two years he 

has taught a special summer intensive 

at Ontario’s Stratford Festival. His PhD 

dissertation was on the representation 

of sexual violence on the early modern 

stage. Find him on Twitter 

@AndrewBretz001 


Next issue 

“Be bloody, bold, 

and resolute...” 

MACBETH 

Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard

LOVE, SEX & 

SHAKESPEARE... 

“We will always be haunted by the question 

‘What inspired Shakespeare’s greatest poetry?’ 

In her captivating debut novel, Andrea Chapin 

offers a brilliant solution...” 

James Shapiro, author of 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare 

Published in the UK by Penguin on 26 March, £7.99

PASSION IN PRACTICE 

FRESH APPROACHES 

TO ACTING SHAKESPEARE 

Original Pronunciation 

Cue-scripts 

Physical training 

Workshops and Consultancy 

www.passioninpractice.com 

@passionpractice

Shakespeare Magazine 08

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