Michael Pennington interweaves his own insights and experiences with Shakespeare’s work in Sweet William, like, he has said, “a love letter to your best friend who happens to be a very famous author.” In his over 50 year career as an actor, Pennington estimates that he has spent over 20,000 hours studying and performing the works of Shakespeare. In the 1960s and 70s, he spent numerous seasons with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 1986, Pennington and director Michael Bogdanov founded the English Shakespeare Company, and toured the UK and the world for the next seven years. Below are some of the highlights of his career.

English Shakespeare Company, 1986-1992
Coriolanus in Coriolanus
Henry in Henry V
Macbeth in Macbeth
Richard in Richard II
Leontes in The Winter’s Tale

Royal Shakespeare Company
Berowne in Love’s Labour’s Lost (1978)
The Duke in Measure for Measure (1978)
Hamlet in Hamlet (1980)
Timon in Timon of Athens (1999)