Shakespeare Live!

Yesterday, 23rd April 2016, was the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's death, and the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC collaborated on a celebration, which was broadcast live on BBC2 and to cinemas.

Naturally, I watched. It was fantastic.

It was introduced by Catherine Tate and David Tennant (who of course, as well as their performances together on Doctor Who, appeared as Benedict and Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing in 2011)



The evening featured wonderful snippets of Shakespeare's plays, but also other art inspired by him, such as Ballet -  Tyrone Singleton, of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, who danced Othello, was particularly impressive  (I enjoyed that more than the Romeo and Juliet pas-de-deux)

There was also opera (The English National Opera, giving parts of Berlioz's 'Beatrice et Benedict' and Verdi's 'Falstaff') and more music and dance - Akala, Rufus Wainwright, Gregory Porter, Rufus Hound and Henry Goodman performing 'Brush up your Shakespeare', and Joseph Fiennes wandering around Stratford upon Avon with his hands in his pockets, giving a potted biography of the man himself.

Al Murray as Bottom (C) BBC

There were, of course, some wonderful performances - Judi Dench and Al Murray, as Titania and Bottom, Harriet Walter as Cleopatra, Meera Syall as Beatrice.

And, one of the biggest highlights of the evening, Paapa Essiedu (currently appearing as Hamlet at the RSC, and doing so exceptionally well) came in in order to give the 'To be, or not to be' soliloquy, and was, alas, rudely interrupted...





(If the video won't play for you, Paapa is interrupted by Tim Minchin wishing to give advice about the speech, followed in turn by Benedict Cumberbatch (mistaken by all for Eddie Redmayne) Harriet Walter, David Tennant, Rory Kinnear, Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench ("It is I, Hamlet the Dame") and finally, Prince Charles...  

I would have loved it if they had managed to get Maxine Peake, too

Sadly, the video stops at that point, and doesn't show Paapa going on to give the full speech, which cannot have been easy, following directly on from the sketch!

Sir Ian McKellen

And directly afterwards, Sir Ian McKellen gave 'The Migrant's Speech' from Sir Thomas More:

Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise
Hath chid down all the majesty of England;
Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,
Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage,
Plodding tooth ports and costs for transportation,
And that you sit as kings in your desires,
Authority quite silent by your brawl,
And you in ruff of your opinions clothed;
What had you got? I’ll tell you. You had taught
How insolence and strong hand should prevail,
How order should be quelled; and by this pattern
Not one of you should live an aged man,
For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,
With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,
Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes

Would feed on one another.

It was beautifully done.

I would have loved to have been in the audience at Stratford,but as I couldn't be, I'm glad they broadcast it.I believe the full thing is available on BBC iPlayer for the next month.

Happy Birthday, Master Shakespeare! 

( I may also have spent some time watching Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons in 'The Hollow Crown', and am looking forward to the next ones, the first of which is going to be shown early next month)