‘The Book of Will’, which is presently playing at The Queen’s Theatre, was jointly produced by Shakespeare North Playhouse, Octagon Theatre Bolton, and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch.
As we entered the theatre, we were surprised by how close the stage was, with all the seats positioned around the props that were positioned in the middle of the stage. This was amazing during the performance as you felt like you were as much a part of the show as the actors.
The show is brought to us by some amazing actors and the full cast includes: Hollyoaks stars Jessica Ellis and Helen Pearson alongside Zach Lee (ITV’s Coronation Street, Emmerdale plus Bouncers, John Godber Company, A Christmas Carol, Hull Truck); Tomi Ogbaro (Seagulls, Octagon Theatre Bolton, The Wonderful World of Dissocia, Theatre Royal Stratford, Jayne Eyre, Stephen Joseph Theatre and New Vic).
I was lucky enough to take my daughter, who is learning about Shakespeare at school, and the show was a perfect introduction to the great writer. The play includes a lot of lines from Shakspeare’s works but this is often done in humour and you certainly don’t need to know too much about the playwright.
I loved how, right towards the end of the play, the actors perform many of the plays in a variety of genres. I discussed it with my daughter, and we both agreed that it is one of the show’s best scenes. It illustrates Shakespeare’s dynamic and how we may have accidentally seen one of his plays previously.
This will undoubtedly be a fantastic night out with plenty of laughs, and don’t worry if you don’t like the author because there’s a lot more to the performance. Just take it as an opportunity to visit your local Victorian pub, order a drink from the bar and observe what’s going on around you.
‘The Book of Will’ is at The Queens Theatre, Hornchurch from Thu 27 April – Sat 13 May, before transferring to Octagon Theatre, Bolton from Wed 17 May – Sat 3 June and Shakespeare North, Playhouse from Thu 19 October – Sat 11 November.