Shakespeare Comes To The Queen’s Theatre And Leaves Audiences With A Wow!

The Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch has provided its community with some incredible performances this season. From edge of your seat thrillers to historical dramas that have kept us all thoroughly entertained throughout a long and ardious winter.

The last performance of the season leaves us as we started with an incredible ‘wow’.

The Book Of Will began with its European premiere on Saturday 29 April. It is a play based on William Shakespeare that is a combination of all of his plays in one that gives the audience comedy, tragedy and an endless series of plots to keep you very much captivated.

Where would we be without Shakespeare? Well if it  hadn’t been for Henry Condell ( Bill Ward) and John Heminges (Russell Richardson) we wouldn’t know! 

This fast moving play by acclaimed American playwright Lauren Gunderson relates the story of how after the death of their beloved Will Shakespeare the troupe of the Kings Men, managed by Heminges led by Condell meet in an alehouse near the Globe. Tired of ham actors and awful productions, fuelled by ale and in the company of actor Richard Burbage (Zach Lee) a Shakespeare purist they come up with the fantastical idea of creating The First Folio; the complete works of Shakespeare in print to honour his writings.

Sadly Burbage dies but he had some original scripts along with some the troupe have. Enter Ralph Crane, Clerk and fanatic follower of the Kings Men, somehow or other he has a lot of original scripts and urges Heminges and Condell to find a publisher.

Mean time Rebecca Heminges, (Helen Pearson) John’s wife, dies, leaving him distraught and without desire to carry on. Using great compassion Condell urges him for the sake of his wife and for Burbage to progress.

Money is tight and and the only printer they can find is the unscrupulous William Jaggard, a mean and nasty man, who has some of Shakespeare’s scripts – so combining is the only way to go forward. But forward they go with difficulties. Jaggard dies, however, his son Isaac (Callum Sim) carries the project forward until they hit a snag – money!

Condell goes to visit one of Shakespeare’s “dark ladies” and obtains some money whilst Heminges visits the rumbustious Poet Laureate,  Ben Jonson ( Andrew Whitehead) to get him to write the preface to the First Folio to add substance to the project. 

Money obtained, preface written, book published, and oh my what an ending – we cover the works and finish with a disco song, but I don’t want to give too much away about that1

Well that’s basically the story, however this fast moving play is full of everything Shakespeare wrote – comedy in abundance, pathos, tragedy, plot and sub plot and how important and valued women folk were.

The great thing about this performance and hats off to The Queen’s, is that it is in the round, with a minimalist set that makes you feel as if you are in the alehouse and part of the play! 

This is another fantastic five star evenings’ entertainment that provides the audience with a great deal of enthusiasm and joy. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the works of Shakespeare or if you are an avid follower, you will love this play!

Written with imagination and directed superbly by Lotte Wickham with some inspirational music to enhance the proceedings.

Well done to the Queen’s Theatre for a superb season that has left audiences coming back for more!

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