Living Shakespeare

Series Producer. Co-production BBC, The British Council, The Open University. 

For the 400th Anniversary season ‘Shakespeare Lives’, we commissioned a series of essays with the British Council and Open University from luminaries around the world including Dr John Kani, Hong Ying and Dame Evelyn Glennie. They were asked to write about what Shakespeare meant in their lives. We were asked to turn these into TV.

I also wrote about the experience here.

John Kani

When Dr. Kani was asked to played Othello in 1987 at the height of Apartheid South Africa, he couldn’t refuse. He would have no idea at the time where that decision would take him.

Hong Ying

Growing up in the slums of communist China, Hong Ying had never heard of Shakespeare, until one of her neighbours was arrested in the middle of the night.

Evelyn Glennie

Dame Evelyn Glennie’s relationship to music and Shakespeare’s words is unique. Especially as she happens to be profoundly deaf.