A love letter to William Shakespeare from lockdown….

Well, I’d seen quite a lot of Shakespeare in the year before lockdown. I’d been overwhelmed by extraordinary performances – crying at an electrifying ‘Macbeth’ in Reading, moved by a wonderful Isabella in a ‘Measure for Measure’ at the Barbican and astonished by ‘King John’ in Stratford-upon-Avon just as the coronavirus was beginning to close in.

Then came lockdown and a new story. But here’s the wonder – if all continues as is, by the end of the year I will have seen all of Shakespeare’s plays performed in new ways. I read about ‘The Show Must Go Online’ early on in lockdown and it has just been wonderful.

I learned that it’s just as possible to be as moved, delighted and amused by actors in their own homes, in their bedrooms and corridors and stairwells. I also learned how extraordinary it can be to watch people give such resonant performances with the props they made themselves in their own hands and to challenge and redevelop what the idea of an ensemble is. So, thank you.

When we reached June 1st and I went back into work at school full-time I grew fiercely protective of those Wednesday evenings watching ‘The Show Must Go Online’ even resorting to a straight after work nap to make sure I could stay awake.

There was so much other Shakespeare too, to stream and most importantly to donate and pay for. I learned so much, fully explored the Histories, jumped through the love story of Beatrice and Benedick, enjoying the certain happiness of the ending in such uncertain times.

And the good news is that the desire to be back in a theatre hasn’t gone anywhere. In fact, sometimes it’s an almost physical longing but this post is a thank you to Shakespeare and the people who made him live during lockdown.