To tie-in with The Complete Walk and our 37 screenings of Shakespeare’s 37 plays, we asked our team to come up with 37 reasons why you should be shouting about Shakespeare from the rooftops this April…
1. He invented A LOT of words (OED records over 2000).
2. Like to ‘gossip’? Well, you owe that to A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
3. Phrases such as ‘in a pickle’ (The Tempest) and ‘wild goose chase’ (The Merchant of Venice).
4. He gave us ways to express our hope and despair, sorrow and rage, love and lust.
5. Too many profound, eloquent speeches to mention.
6. See Bernard Levin’s argument for Shakespeare’s impact on our language:
7. The best insults. Ever. ‘Thou art as fat as butter’ (Henry IV Part 1). Generate your own Shakespeare insults here.
8. He revolutionised the sonnet form and is England’s National Poet.
9. The most ridiculous stage direction in the history of theatre.
10. Compelling characters: tragic heroes, star-crossed lovers, ruthless tyrants, drunken fools.
11. The banter between Beatrice and Benedick.
12. Shakespeare’s women.
13. Stories that have stood the test of time. (400 years, in fact).
14. Complicated plots, interwoven storylines, and hilarious coincidences only the Bard could have penned.
15. Some of the best (and worst) screen adaptations of Shakespeare. (West Side Story, Gnomeo & Juliet, Shakespeare in Love, Kiss Me, Kate, Get Over It, The Godfather, She’s The Man, Forbidden Planet, the list goes on…).
16. Spending the 90s sobbing uncontrollably over the death of Mufasa in The Lion King.
17.10 Things I Hate About You. And that smile. (Heath Ledger, forever <3)
18. Leonardo DiCaprio probably owes his film career to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.
19. Love/hate relationship with Branagh’s unabridged four hour film version of Hamlet.
20. Influence on European & American literature (we’re looking at you Dickens, especially).
21. Gothic fiction arguably wouldn’t have emerged as a genre.
22. It’s okay to admit you enjoyed the Twilight series. #TeamEdward.
23. We wouldn’t have Shakespeare Cats. Cats. In ruffs. What more do you want?
24. So many absolutely marvellous Shakespearean actors.
25. Where would amateur dramatics be without Shakespeare?
26. David Garrick. And his Stratford Shakespeare Jubilee of 1769. (It rained and there was hot chocolate).
27. Theatre superstitions. It’s referred to as ‘The Scottish Play’ for a reason.
28. From the Beatles to Barenaked Ladies, pop music owes a lot to the Bard.
29.#15SecondShakespeare. Actors reciting pop lyrics in the style of Shakespearean verse. Charles Edwards and the Vengaboys anyone?
Thanks @IanGelderacta. Onwards to @DreyfusJames, @GregHaiste& @emmagafielding. #15secondshakespearepic.twitter.com/gijZBChihI
— Charles Edwards (@CEdwardsActor)September 22, 2015
30. Why did Anne Hathaway get the second best bed?
31. Influence on art.
32. Shaping the learning of Arts and English Literature in schools across the country. Including, Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank. (Watch me whip? Watch me nae nae?)
33. His ability to entertain and speak to anyone, no matter where they are on earth.
34. High five to the leading Shakespeare institutions and organisations around the world. (You know who you are).
35. Sam Wanamaker.
36. Our fearless leaders. Mark Rylance, Dominic Dromgoole and Emma Rice.
37. And finally, this.
