Sonnets, in action, with actors

A group of actors come together to recite Shakespeare in a completely unique performance, all in the aid of charity.

In March 2020 theatres and film sets closed in the UK and around the world.
How did some actors, directors and academics pass the time? They met by Zoom every week for six months and threw themselves in to Shakespeare’s sonnets.

Hailing from Tel Aviv to Swansea, from Venice to Newcastle, the acting company includes Steffan Rhodri (Gavin and Stacey, Harry Potter), David Neilson (Roy Cropper from Coronation Street), Miles Jupp (The Thick Of It, Rev, Greed). Other actors have played at National Theatres from Ammanford to Tokyo, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the West End and Broadway. TV and film credits include everything from Z Cars to The Crown.

This show is part master class, part rehearsal, part sharing, part spoken word gig, part group therapy, and all audience participation. The actors share what they have learned about the sonnets during lockdown.

The only script is the sonnets and anything could happen. Professor Carol Chillington Rutter (Professor of Shakespeare and Performance Studies, University of Warwick) will be on hand with a complete works, a microphone and a bell, if things start getting out of hand. Expect a fun, unpretentious, accessible, cliche-busting, myth torpedoing introduction to playing Shakespeare. Come, listen, participate, heckle and leave everything you’ve learned about Shakespeare at the door.

Online streaming tickets are also available for this event – so you can enjoy the show live from the comfort of your home.

An event in aid of Norden’s Ark Appeal and Harry’s Fund.