Yesterday was Shakespeare’s birthday, and last night, we raised a toast to the Bard at Norwich Theatre Stage Two.
We gathered a group of people united by a passion for Shakespeare’s work but from a range of backgrounds.
This included those who perform or teach his work as well as people who just love reading or experiencing live performances of the 35-plus plays that are the reason he remains a household name even on what would have been his 461st birthday!
It will be no surprise that at Norwich Theatre, we believe passionately that Shakespeare’s stories and characters continue to hold up a mirror to the world around us just as they did when the first folio of his work was published in 1623.
The stories are full of big characters with universal emotions and motivations, which for good or bad ends, drive stories that are continually retold by other artists or played out over and over again in the news.
It is for this reason that Norwich Theatre became one of only a handful of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s partner theatres six years ago.
Since then, many thousands of people have experienced their work as audiences at shows.
We are very proud to bring world-class Shakespeare to the region for local people to enjoy, and long may this continue.
On his birthday, we were excited to share that the next instalment of this will see us welcome RSC’s new production of Hamlet to Norwich Theatre Royal in March 2025.
Hamlet is solidly in my top three Shakespeare plays for its enduring high drama, so much so that its premise and plot have been paralleled many times over on the big and small screens, and its complex characters.
I also love Shakespeare’s choice of words in this play, which have provided some of the most wonderful expressions in our language today, such as ‘cruel to be kind’, ‘method in the madness’ and ‘in my heart of hearts’.
However, I recognise how the language of Shakespeare in Hamlet and many other plays can be obscure and feel like a barrier to understanding the story.
I know that this is what puts some off trying Shakespeare.
I’m not embarrassed to say that I don’t understand every single word or turn of phrase he uses in his plays.
I would also challenge anyone who says that this is necessary as an audience member or the way Shakespeare would have wanted audiences to approach his work.
So, what is the starting point for someone who wants to try Shakespeare for the first time?
For me, it is about knowing the arc of the story and the roles of key characters within that.
With that under your belt, as well as absorbing what the actors do on stage and all the theatrical tricks of a great production, you can let the words be signposts and the obscurities wash over you.
That’s what keeps me on course when I see one of his plays for the first time.
Across Norwich and Norfolk, the benefit of the RSC’s work has had much wider reach over recent years through the extensive Shakespeare Schools programme, supporting reading and drama at a time when arts subjects are in peril of being squeezed out of the curriculum, and through a growing number and increasing range of community engagement projects.
Most recently, in 2023, a group of local women, chosen for their inspiring contributions as leaders and change-makers in their own communities, took to the Norwich Theatre Royal stage as a community chorus alongside RSC actors in Julius Caesar - a play about power and leadership, with staggering resonance in world politics right now.
Last night, we also launched our latest collaborative project with the RSC, which is about how Shakespeare’s stories resonate with authentic Norwich stories of today.
Shakespeare Nation: A Norwich Story is a celebration of place and people, which approaches our greatest poet-playwright from every angle.
This project revels in a diverse range of opportunities for people to take part creatively, not just as performers but also as off-stage creatives.
The resulting show will be performed in our venues and around the city this autumn, telling some untold stories of our communities.
In Shakespeare’s As You Like It - a play that is arguably an early precursor to the twentieth-century concept of the rom-com - you find another famous line "all the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players".
At Norwich Theatre we take the playwright at his word and don’t hesitate to challenge convention in terms of bringing his stories and characters to life.
I cannot wait to see what we co-create together next with local participants through Shakespeare Nation: A Norwich Story. It is still possible to join, and all of the groups are completely free to attend but need to be booked - check the Norwich Theatre website for details.
We will also never stop trying to break down barriers to enjoying his work as they are amazing stories above and beyond anything else.
If you are tempted to come and try Hamlet, I would urge you to put down any glossary of terms and resist reading a dull synopsis.
Instead, depending on your age or taste, watch Disney’s The Lion King or the current blockbuster Sky Original, Gangs of London.
Conversely, if you absolutely loved either of those and want to see the original Simba or Sean Wallace then book a ticket and give it a go!