The abiding lesson that we have learned at Norwich Theatre during the pandemic is that we are far more than just our venues. Throughout these two unsettling years, we have striven to take theatre, writing, art and creativity into the community: online, by phone, by post and — to riotous acclaim — in our big top which popped up around the city of Norwich. This energy has flowed in two directions, and we have been humbled and inspired by your creative responses — in so many ways, from so many walks of life — to our lockdown initiatives. Truly, as Jacques says in As You Like It, ‘All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.’
Ironically, though these words are Shakespeare’s, his own work — urgent and relevant as it remains today — is often fossilised by convention, regarded as too hallowed to be challenged and explored, as in his day it surely would have been. As we emerge from the strictures of the pandemic, we are delighted to announce a season of Shakespeare at Norwich Theatre which approaches our greatest poet-playwright from every angle and demands participation from our audiences.
In May we have Twelfth Night at Norwich Theatre Playhouse in an irreverent and energetic production by The HandleBards. This remarkable all-female company brings an environmental ethos to its work, making Shakespeare sustainable by cycling between venues with costumes, props and sets in tow. On stage The HandleBards tell Shakespeare’s artful tale of love, cruelty and heartbreak with their signature pace and wit.
Led by the Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare Nation is a four-year partnership with Norwich Theatre and five other regional theatres. It reaches into the community, pushing aside the notion that Shakespeare is dull and distant, and bringing his timeless work alive for people who might never have thought it was for them. In this third year of our successful partnership, A Carnival of Errors presents workshops inspired by Shakespeare’s uproarious A Comedy of Errors, in which participants are encouraged to tell stories from their own experience. We also worked with charities, including The Hamlet in Norwich and Fabba Theatre Group in Great Yarmouth.
Henry VI: Rebellion is another project led by the Royal Shakespeare Company, with collaboration and co-creation at its heart. With more characters than any other of Shakespeare’s plays, this production has a cast of 122 people, 74 of whom are adults who have taken part in Shakespeare Nation workshops, including 14 from Norwich. They will be performing in Stratford on the Royal Shakespeare Theatre stage from April.
Our final collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and other theatres is 37 Plays, a call for playwrights to match the astounding breadth of Shakespeare’s work with 37 contemporary plays telling the modern stories of our nation. Norwich Theatre will be working closely through the year with communities in Norfolk to help them craft their play and share their untold stories and experiences.
There is no human emotion which is not experienced by Shakespeare’s characters; no joy or tragedy they do not portray. As we come to terms with the profound upheaval of the pandemic, Norwich Theatre brings you Shakespeare as never before, in which all the world’s a stage.