And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
This Shakespeare's idea of seven ages of human life is a framework around which 'Being Shakespeare' is build and Simon Callow brilliantly leads us through the meanders of Bard's life. I learnt more from this play than at any point at school and got to know Shakespeare as a living being opposite to this artificial, legendary construct fed to us during our education.
'Being Shakespear' is full of joyous quirks and interesting anecdotes about Bard's life entwined with superbly acted excerpts from his most famous works, my favourite being Simon Callow acting as both Romeo and Juliet and later as a whole troupe from 'Midsummer's night dream'.
Simon Callow is absolutely captivating, he owns the stage with power and subtle humour, to be able to keep the audience interested and engaged while being on your own, with a minimal set of props and presenting someones biography one really has to be a great actor.
Currently there are some great offers for the tickets to this play (I went with http://www.lovetheatre.com/tickets/3715/Being-Shakespeare) so if you love the Bard of Avon (or even if you really hate him for the tortures you've endured at school, but would like to know why there is all that fuss about him) go and see 'Being Shakespeare' (it ends on 15 of March).
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