Simon Callow in
Being Shakespeare
April 18 - 29, 2012
at the Broadway Playhouse,
175 E. Chestnut Street, Chicago
A World's Stage Production
from England
by Jonathan Bate
directed by Tom Cairns
Why Shakespeare?
Dear Friends,
Having already shared with Chicago audiences my love of and fascination with Charles Dickens, I am thrilled that Chicago Shakespeare invited me to return to your great city this spring with my new show, Being Shakespeare, April 18–29. For a man whose works and name are known the world over, who has been admired and loved for over four hundred years, it is astonishing how few hard facts we can claim to know about William Shakespeare. My collaborator and writer Jonathan Bate and I want to show just how much we know about the obscure son of a glove-maker from a little market town in the Midlands who, more than any writer who ever lived, seems to have been able to express—in unforgettable language—every aspect of our experience of human life, from the cradle to the grave. Who was he? Where did he come from? What did he do? What was his life like? What went on in his mind? How did he become the greatest playwright that ever lived? These are the subjects of our show.
I hope you will join me on this new journey, to discover the genius and revel in the astonishing work of William Shakespeare.
All the best,
Simon Callow