Helen Mirren, Gregory Porter, Benedict Cumberbatch, Rory Kinnear, Rufus Hound, Henry Goodman, The Shires, David Suchet, Simon Russell Beale, Roger Allam, Antony Sher, Harriet Walter, John Lithgow, Alexandra Gilbreath, Tim Minchin, Anne Marie Duff, Pippa Nixon, the Orchestra of the Swan, the cast of Horrible Histories and Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra are joining the already stellar line up as part of Shakespeare Live! From the RSC on the 23rd April 2016, to mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare.
The performance in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre will be given in front of an invited audience, which will include His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales who is President of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, as well as RSC supporters, partner schools and theatres, local residents and the general public through a series of ballots for free tickets.
As previously announced – David Tennant will be hosting the show and will be joined by Judi Dench, Rufus Wainwright, Ian McKellen, Joseph Fiennes, English National Opera, Meera Syal, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Paapa Essiedu, Alison Moyet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Al Murray and the Royal Ballet. This once in a life-time cast, assembled and directed by Gregory Doran, Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, will come together on the evening of the 23rd April to stage a unique show in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, which will be broadcast on BBC Two that evening at 8.30pm.
Alongside numerous theatrical performances to be revealed on the night, Shakespeare Live! From the RSC will feature Shakespeare-inspired work spanning the musical genres – including hip-hop, blues, musical theatre, jazz, opera and classical numbers based on his plays.
The show will open with a rendition of ‘Tonight’ from West Side Story, choreographed by Will Tuckett and performed by 19 of the most gifted musical theatre students from across the UK.
Country duo The Shires will perform a special interpretation of Shakespeare’s poem ‘Under the Greenwood Tree’; Henry Goodman and Rufus Hound will give their own rendition of ‘Brush Up Your Shakespeare’ from the musical Kiss Me Kate and the Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra will perform Duke Ellington’s ‘Such Sweet Thunder’.
Akala and his award winning music theatre production company Hip Hop Shakespeare will perform a brand new composition; Othello-inspired dance from the Birmingham Royal Ballet will feature; whilst dancers from the Royal Ballet will perform Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, accompanied by the 65 piece Orchestra of the Swan.
Musicians Rufus Wainwright, Gregory Porter and Ian Bostridge will also be offering songs inspired by Shakespeare: Rufus Wainwright will sing Sonnet 29; a filmed performance of Gregory Porter singing ‘When That I was a Little Tiny Boy’ will feature and there is a haunting rendition of ‘Come Away, Death’ from Ian Bostridge accompanied by Sir Antonio Pappano, recorded at the Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare is buried.
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC will be broadcast on BBC Two on 23rd April and is part of the BBC Shakespeare Festival 2016. The BBC Shakespeare Festival 2016 will see the BBC use the full range of its services – local, national and global – to make Shakespeare irresistible to everyone.
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC will also be screened live to 368 cinemas in the UK and Europe by Picturehouse Entertainment – information here: onscreen.rsc.org.uk
BBC Worldwide is the international distributor for Shakespeare Live! From the RSC across cinema, television, video on demand and DVD.
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC is produced for television by John Wyver, Director, RSC Screen Productions, and BBC producer Catherine Stirk. Shakespeare Live! From the RSC has been commissioned by Jan Younghusband for the BBC and the executive producer will be Phil Dolling, Head of Events. Part of the BBC’s partnership with the RSC.