Celebrating Shakespeare

It's Shakespeare's birthday today so I am happy to mark it by celebrating my visit last evening with a friend to Westminster Abbey. I wasn't quite sure what was in store for us so the joint theatrical event with Shakespeare's Globe was a wonderful surprise. Scattered around the Abbey floor were maybe 20 or more brilliant Globe players, reciting or declaiming Shakespeare's famous speeches and sonnets. As the audience strolled around the glorious spaces - aisles and chapels - the actors caught our attention - whether just one person or a group gathered together. Each short performance felt personal and perfect. Sublime acting in a sublime setting. A privilege indeed to be there.  And just recently I have been fortunate enough to see Royal Shakespeare Company actor David Tennant starring in 'Don Juan in Soho'. What a storming performance - unflaggingly dissolute but gloriously honest in his disapproval of today's celebrity culture and dishonest politics. Shakespearean theatre at its best - how lucky am I!