Tell us about Shakespeare in Regents Park.
It’s a really fun evening where we bring many of the best moments in Shakespeare to life. For example, we have Romeo and Juliet’s balcony scene, the Macbeths (Damian Lewis and Kate Fleetwood!) plotting to murder the king and the course of true love not running at all smoothly in some very funny extracts from A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
James Phoon (Bridgerton and the recent Jamie Lloyd Shakespeare’s) and Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes, Cheaters and Chewing Gum) play Romeo and Juliet and there are also Midsummer Night’s Dream extracts with Olivia Williams, Samantha Spiro, James Phoon, Nigel Lindsay, Damian Lewis, Tony Robinson and Danny Sapani.
You’ve got some amazing people taking part. How did that come about?
I am extremely lucky and have worked with many of these great actors before. Brilliant actors bring poetry and Shakespeare alive and bring audiences along who might not normally have thought of giving poetry or Shakespeare a chance. Through the shows and through poetry videos, they have brought millions of people to the joys of it all.
What sort of performance space is Regent’s Park Theatre?
It is the most magical place in London. It is an outdoor theatre in the woods. It sits 1300 people. It is one of those secret places in London that you want to share with everyone you know.
The event is based on your book Shakespeare for Every Day. Tell us about that.
The show is based on my book of the same name, Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year. It’s a daily read, like my previous anthologies A Poem for Every Night of the Year and A Poem for Every Day of the Year. There’s a Shakespeare speech or scene on each day with an introduction about it. Henry V’s speech from the Battle of Agincourt sits on October 25th, the witches in Macbeth are on Hallowe’en, Valentine’s Day has a love sonnet…
Where did your fascination with Shakespeare begin?
When I was younger, I was taken on a school trip to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre, so this is a full circle moment for me. I don’t know if it was the place or the play, but that was the beginning of my love for Shakespeare.
Do you think events like this make Shakespeare more accessible?
Definitely, yes! Someone said it could be called ’Shakespeare Uncut’. It is inviting, accessible and fun with a feeling of improv about it but we do actually keep to the script and honour Shakespeare’s words.
What is the enduring appeal of Shakespeare? – if that is not too big a question.
He writes the best plays using the best language. You’ll be quoting him in your daily life, often without realising it. ‘Blinking idiot’, ‘Brave new world’, ‘Brevity is the soul of wit’, ‘In my heart of hearts’, ‘Jealousy is the green-eyed monster’, ‘Neither rhyme nor reason’, ‘Own flesh and blood’, ‘Too much of a good thing’ and ’What’s done is done’. Chances are you were quoting Shakespeare before you saw one of his plays, opened this book or came to one of my shows!
You ran this event last year. Is it going to be a yearly event? Any plans to take this to other venues around the country?
We have done it at the Hay Festival (with a cast including Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Corrin), Edinburgh Festival on film (with Helena Bonham Carter and Dominic West) and the National Theatre (with Simon Russell Beale). This year we will be doing another event. We don’t plan to stop….
Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, London, May 25. Tickets from £25.
