Shakespeare Magazine 11
The shiny new-look Shakespeare Magazine 11 is adorned with a stunning cover image of Lily James and Richard Madden in Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. Also in Issue 11, SK Moore tells us about his compelling new graphic novel of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, while broadcaster Samira Ahmed turns her magnificently mercurial mind to the subject of Shakespeare. We have words with Pub Landlord comedian Al Murray about his recent brush with the Bard (and Judi Dench) at RSC Shakespeare Live. And our Editor raves about a 3-DVD box set of 1960s TV Shakespeare classic The Wars of the Roses. We chat with the great Don Warrington, star of Talawa Theatre’s earth-shaking King Lear at Manchester’s Royal Exchange – youthful co-star Alfred Enoch joins in too. Also this issue: we imagine what Tom Hiddleston’s Hamlet would look like, we explore the life of Elizabeth Siddal, Victorian Ophelia, and Bristol’s Insane Root scare the living daylights out of us with their Macbeth!
The shiny new-look Shakespeare Magazine 11 is adorned with a stunning cover image of Lily James and Richard Madden in Kenneth Branagh’s Romeo and Juliet. Also in Issue 11, SK Moore tells us about his compelling new graphic novel of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, while broadcaster Samira Ahmed turns her magnificently mercurial mind to the subject of Shakespeare. We have words with Pub Landlord comedian Al Murray about his recent brush with the Bard (and Judi Dench) at RSC Shakespeare Live. And our Editor raves about a 3-DVD box set of 1960s TV Shakespeare classic The Wars of the Roses. We chat with the great Don Warrington, star of Talawa Theatre’s earth-shaking King Lear at Manchester’s Royal Exchange – youthful co-star Alfred Enoch joins in too. Also this issue: we imagine what Tom Hiddleston’s Hamlet would look like, we explore the life of Elizabeth Siddal, Victorian Ophelia, and Bristol’s Insane Root scare the living daylights out of us with their Macbeth!
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King Lear <br />
“I was scared of it, and I think that’s a telling sign.<br />
In theatre, if something frightens you – do it”<br />
The blinded<br />
Gloucester (Philip<br />
Whitchurch)<br />
encounters a Lear<br />
who has lost his<br />
grip on sanity.<br />
For over 40 years, British audiences have had<br />
the chance to see you on stage, on TV and in<br />
film. How do you select your projects?<br />
“I don’t really choose my projects as such. Sarah<br />
Frankcom asked me if I wanted to do it. I was<br />
scared, I was frightened of it, and sometimes<br />
I think that’s quite a telling sign. If something<br />
frightens you, particularly in the theatre, do it.<br />
Because the theatre demands a great deal from you<br />
in terms of commitment. This is only the second<br />
theatre production I’ve done in three years and I’m<br />
very happy to do things like this.”<br />
You are the first black actor to play King<br />
Lear since Ben Thomas in Talawa’s 1994<br />
production and, prior to that, Ira Aldridge in<br />
1860. What is the significance of this?<br />
“It is a fact, there were black people in this time<br />
period. Racism didn’t actually exist back then as<br />
we know it today and I think that’s important.<br />
This is what history does and if you can do history<br />
properly, then do it. In this case that means saying<br />
‘Look! We were here, end of story’.”<br />
How did you prepare for performing the role<br />
of King Lear every night?<br />
“Every night you begin at the bottom and you<br />
work your way to the top. In a sense it’s easier, but<br />
in another sense, every time I come to the theatre<br />
before the show, I’m nervous. It’s a long way up<br />
and I’m hoping I get to the end. That’s the nature<br />
of the play, I think.”<br />
Is it reassuring to have a fan base that will<br />
come out to see you in theatre productions?<br />
“I have no idea whether fans of mine come to see<br />
me at the theatre, but when I meet people that<br />
have come for the first time, that’s very thrilling.<br />
I met a boy last night who had never been to the<br />
theatre before and he had never seen King Lear.<br />
He had never read it, he didn’t know what the<br />
story was, and he was overwhelmed by it. I think<br />
that is fantastic.”<br />
<br />
shakespeare magazine 41
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