All articles tagged with #shakespeare
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s new all-male production of As You Like It opened in Stratford-upon-Avon on October 7, 2026, featuring Jonathan Groff as Rosalind. Despite a significant technical delay during the opening night, critics praised the performance, design, and thematic focus on identity and belonging.
Dancer-actor Robbie Fairchild debuts Lord Chamberlain’s Men at Fall for Dance, offering a 30‑minute preview of his first work as director‑choreographer‑star. The piece treats Shakespeare’s elusive “lovely boy” as a figure from the playwright’s troupe whose forbidden longing informs Romeo and Juliet, drawing on Judi Dench’s tutelage, input from Nicholas Hytner and Will Tosh, and guidance from Christopher Wheeldon, with music by Tchaikovsky and spoken text to convey emotion rather than proof. Fairchild frames the project as a plausible fiction rather than a historical claim, aiming to illuminate queer longing in Shakespeare’s world.
Suri Cruise is reportedly moving into theater, set to star in Midsummer!, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, with Pittsburgh previews July 31–Aug 1 and a UK debut at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe; an anonymous source also claims she’s officially studying musical theatre at Carnegie Mellon, following her LaGuardia roots and a campus acting stint, while Katie Holmes has publicly pushed back on trust-fund rumors.
Suri Cruise, 20, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, will star in a 90-minute modern take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream called 'Midsummer!' at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, with two July performances before the UK debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2026; she is majoring in musical theater at CMU, after previously being linked to fashion, and has appeared in staged readings as part of her college theater work.
A stray cat crashed the final scene of a Romeo and Juliet ballet in Turkey, curling up beside Romeo as Juliet wailed, while backstage footage shows onlookers laughing and the cast staying in character.
Renowned Shakespearean actor and founder of the English Shakespeare Company, Michael Pennington, has died at 82. A longtime honorary associate artist with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he appeared in more than 70 screen roles—including Return of the Jedi as Moff Jerjerrod and The Iron Lady—while also shaping theatre through his classical productions. He died peacefully at Denville Hall, according to his agent.
Stage and screen actor Michael Pennington, famed for his Star Wars role as Moff Jerjerrod and as a longtime Shakespearean performer who co-founded the English Shakespeare Company, has died at 82. His career spanned more than 70 screen roles, including The Iron Lady, and he was closely associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company; tributes praised his clarity, wisdom and artistry.
Michael Pennington, the renowned Shakespearean actor who also appeared as Moff Jerjerrod in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, died at 82, according to The Telegraph. Born in Cambridge in 1943, he was celebrated for his stage work with the Royal Shakespeare Company, once choosing Hamlet over a starring role in The French Lieutenant’s Woman, and later appeared in The Iron Lady and various TV series.
Scholars have pinpointed the exact site and size of Shakespeare's London house in Blackfriars using archival floorplans and 17th‑century documents, suggesting he spent more time in London in his later years and possibly wrote there, with the discovery also clarifying the blue plaque’s relation to the site.
A newly analyzed 17th‑century map and London Archives findings identify William Shakespeare’s only London residence as the Blackfriars Gatehouse, clarifying his life in the capital and prompting a City of London plaque at the site.
A London archive discovery has pinpointed the exact site of William Shakespeare’s London home in Blackfriars using a 1668 plan found in the London Archives. The plan shows the property as an L-shaped building perched over the gatehouse near the Sign of the Cock Tavern and large enough to be subdivided into two houses, suggesting Shakespeare remained professionally engaged in London near the Globe rather than retiring to Stratford after 1613.
Luke Thompson leads Season 4 of Netflix's Bridgerton as Benedict Bridgerton, delivering a Shakespearean‑tinged romance with a maid at a dreamlike masked ball; the season premieres Jan. 29, 2026, and Thompson discusses acting craft, balancing fame with stage work, and his long‑term plans in the profession.
The article discusses 'The Twelfth Night Reunion' on YouTube, where actors like Judi Dench and Stephen Fry share their memories and insights about performing Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night,' highlighting the play's emotional depth and enduring appeal.
Chloé Zhao's film 'Hamnet' is a poetic, meditative adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, focusing on grief, nature, and emotional expression, with Zhao employing mindfulness techniques during production to deepen the storytelling. The film explores Shakespeare's life and loss from the perspective of Agnes Hathaway, emphasizing organic visuals and emotional authenticity, and is poised for awards success.
Chloé Zhao's film 'Hamnet' faced a challenge in crafting its ending, which was resolved through emotional discovery and a symbolic gesture of connection with the audience, culminating in a powerful communal moment that emphasizes love's transformation and the enduring human spirit.