In 2016 The Royal Shakespeare Company celebrated the 400th anniversary of the bard's death by mounting a star studded gala which was filmed live and then beamed around the world.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
We showed the film as part of our OnScreen series four years ago, and now we're presenting an encore screening on Tuesday, July 13 at 6pm.
When I was looking back through the archives about this production, I came across some notes from Gregory Dixon, then the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company. They were very entertaining, so I thought I'd share them here:
"In 1662, John Ward was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon. He notes somewhat anxiously in his diary: 'Remember to peruse Shakespeare's plays, and be much versed in them, that I may not be ignorant in that matter', a sentiment no doubt echoed by every Stratford vicar since.
"But he also writes: 'Shakespeare, Drayton and Ben Jonson had a merry meeting and, it seems, drank too hard, for Shakespeare died of a fever there contracted'.
"This is the only account we have of Shakespeare's death in 1616. According to his funerary monument in the church, he died on April 23, which is generally accepted to be the very day on which he was born. So perhaps he went out merrily celebrating his 52nd birthday with his two mates, Ben and Mike (Michael Drayton, a fellow Warwickshire poet), and overdid it rather drastically.
"Whatever the truth of the matter, this year we are marking the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's fatal birthday binge. "
Our film Shakespeare Live! is tribute to William Shakespeare, hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate and featuring Judi Dench, Ian McKellan, Benedict Cumberbatch, Helen Mirren and Prince Charles, among many others.
Through a unique combination of the performing arts, this show celebrates Shakespeare's plays and their enduring influence on music, dance, opera, musical theatre and comedy worldwide.
The once-in-a-lifetime cast, assembled and directed by the artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company', Gregory Doran, includes Helen Mirren, David Suchet, John Lithgow, Antony Sher and Simon Russell Beale as well as Alison Moyet, Gregory Porter, Rufus Wainwright, the English National Opera, Stratford-upon-Avon's Orchestra of the Swan and the Royal Ballet.
Please join us for the encore screening of this marvellous celebration of Shakespeare. Book at theMEC.com.au or phone 6592 5466 or visit the Box Office from 10am - 1pm Tuesday to Friday.
