RSC launches #ShareYourShakespeare project to mark Shakespeare's birthday
© RSC, photo by Kwame Lestrade
Entitled #ShareYourShakespeare, the project encourages audiences across the world to share their Bard-related content on the internet as part of a Shakespeare-supporting community.
You can watch the final video here:
The company has said audiences can get involved by "performing a speech, baking a cake, painting a picture, serenading a neighbour over the garden fence or teaching your dog to bark Macbeth".
Created in association with the Folger Shakespeare Library, the project has some big names attached including David Tennant, John Kani, Charlotte Arrowsmith, Jane Lapotaire, Joanne Pearce, Katy Stephens, David Threlfall, David Bradley, Stephen Boxer, Edward Bennett, and Paapa Essiedu.
Users can get involved by using the #ShareYourShakespeare hashtag and by tagging the RSC on social media platforms.
Gregory Doran, artistic director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, said:
"As a global pandemic cuts us off from one another in ways we could never have imagined, and with everyday life as we know it brought to an indefinite standstill, we need stories now, more than ever before. They help to make sense of the world around us and to bring us together, and who better to articulate our collective hopes, anxieties, fears and joys than William Shakespeare. His words, speeches and stories speak to us all in different ways whilst, at the same time, uniting us across borders, languages and cultures.
"With our stages currently empty, productions cancelled, and our buildings temporarily closed, it feels more important than ever to connect with our audiences, artists and partners across the world through shared experiences. Together we can celebrate those everyday acts of human creativity and resilience that continue to inspire us, raise a smile and propel us forward, together in times of crisis. That's why we are handing control of the Royal Shakespeare Company to you, our Royal Shakespeare Community. And whilst we can't be together for Shakespeare's birthday this year, we will instead be marking the day with a global celebration in which audiences everywhere can play their part."
