I am delighted to announce the Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival - Celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare's First Folio. A festival of 8 days of fun-and-fact-packed festivities! From the 5th - 12th of November 2023 at the Coach House Theatre in Malvern
Since 2005, I have had the pleasure of working with the Malvern Theatre Players (MTP) as a playwright. Initially at the Malvern Theatres and since 2012 at Coach House Theatre in Malvern.
Following the fantastic success of the Malvern Theatre Players’ (MTP) adaption of Wind in the Willows, performed in the beautiful Priory Park at the end of July, where every performance was sold out, Chris Bassett, the Company Manager of the MTP, has asked me to announce that they will be hosting the Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival in November 2023 - Celebrating 400 years of Shakespeare's First Folio. 8 days of fun-and-fact-packed festivities! From Sunday the 5th - Sunday the 12th of November 2023 at the Coach House Theatre in Grange Road, Malvern.
The Festival is the brainchild of Chris Bassett - "I wanted Malvern to mark the 400th anniversary of the publishing of Shakespeare's First Folio - the first complete works of Shakespeare’s plays – which is the supreme theatrical work because Malvern is both a theatrical and a literary town. We are including Amelia Marriette's play Nay, Remember Me! in the Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival because the play brings the people who brought us the First Folio in 1623 to life in a fun and engaging way.”
The MTP has produced five of my dramatic pieces, beginning with my adaption of Middleton’s Revenger's Tragedy in 2005, performed in the Forum Theatre, for which Chris Bassett designed and built an exact replica of the Globe Theatre. We have collaborated on many other projects through the years; I am really looking forward to working on this festival in November.
Of course, I am really thrilled to have been asked to be involved with the Festival because the 400th anniversary of the publishing of the First Folio is a world event – from Australia to Zambia - celebrations have been taking place all year, but Malvern is one of the few places that is running so many events at the exact time – November – that the Folio was published in 1623.
So, what can audiences expect from the Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival?
The Festival will open and close with two Shakespeare on Film Sundays (the 5th and the 12th of November). Hamlet (1948), Romeo and Juliet (1968), Richard III (1995) and Henry V (1989). Offering a rare chance to see these films projected onto the big screen.
There will be six performances of Nay, Remember Me! opening on the 7th of November. I wrote the play for the Royal Shakespeare Company's Fringe Festival at the Other Place Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon when I was a student at the Shakespeare Institute. This time, I will be appearing in a cameo role in Nay, Remember Me!, which will be fun (for me and hopefully the audience)!
Professor Judith Buchanan, one of the leading experts of the First Folio and the Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, will present her fascinating talk [S]carce a blot in his papers: Celebrating 400 years of the 1623 Shakespeare Folio" on the 8th of November - the actual day of the 400th anniversary.
![Professor Judith Buchanan, one of the leading experts of the First Folio and the Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, will present her fascinating talk [S]carce a blot in his papers: Celebrating 400 years of the 1623 Shakespeare Folio"on the 8th of November - the actual day of the 400th anniversary.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5b725c_da22a52bacf64c6594b39ba30c29bb7a~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_147,h_209,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/5b725c_da22a52bacf64c6594b39ba30c29bb7a~mv2.jpg)
![Professor Judith Buchanan, Professor Judith Buchanan, speaking at Sotheby's In New York last September. She is one of the leading experts of the First Folio and the Master of St Peter's College, Oxford, will present her fascinating talk [S]carce a blot in his papers: Celebrating 400 years of the 1623 Shakespeare Folio"on the 8th of November - the actual day of the 400th anniversary.](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5b725c_65de9db40417431ca9be36d27323657a~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_106,h_86,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,blur_2,enc_auto/5b725c_65de9db40417431ca9be36d27323657a~mv2.jpeg)
Professor Buchanan has seen the advanced brochure or events, and she is also looking forward to visiting Malvern. Her comments so far are very encouraging - "It looks terrific! The whole Festival looks energetic and imaginative."
I will be offering two of my talks - Shakespeare and the Authorship Controversy (yes, I believe that that Man from Stratford wrote the plays, and I will try and convince you). This will take place on the 9th of November, after which Melting Pot Theatre will perform extracts from Hamlet, and on the 10th of November, my talk Shakespeare Today: Exploring Shakespeare's Cultural Legacy after which Melting Pot Theatre will perform extracts from Macbeth.
Will there be something for kids? Yes! Workshop places are available! Two free and one with a small charge.
Workshops for schools are an important part of the Festival. Places are available for workshops on Monday 6th of November and Saturday the 11th of November. Plus, there are cheaper seats for kids on the matinee performance of Nay, Remember Me! on the 11th of November. Please contact the Coach House Theatre for more information.
How much will it cost to come and enjoy what's on offer?
Ticket prices are very reasonable - the prices have not been revised or increased, raging from £7.00 to £16.00. Plus, there will be a FREE exhibition in the Barry Jackson Room about the First Folio.
It will be a big event - and the Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival has been made possible through the support of the Malvern Hills District Council.
Councillor Beverley Nielsen, the Economic Development & Tourism Portfolio Holder for Malvern Hills District Council, is thrilled to support the Festival: "I'm looking forward to the comedy-drama Nay, Remember Me! illustrating the real-life stories behind the making of the First Folio, written by former Malvern resident Amelia Marriette. Her studies at the University of Birmingham's Shakespeare Institute and work as a curator at the Royal Shakespeare Company have fuelled her passion as a playwright. I am also looking forward to the very special talk on the 8th of November at 3.00 pm by one of the world's leading authorities on the First Folio, Professor Judith Buchanan, who will provide a compelling narrative of the losses, thefts, recoveries and sales of individual copies of the 1623 Folio in recounting their passage down the centuries. “We hope the public will join us as we pay homage to and celebrate probably the most important secular work ever published. The Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival is full of insight, inspiration, awe and sufficient drama to make even the Bard himself proud!" Said Councillor Beverley Nielsen.
Can I be in the play or get involved with the Festival? Yes!
Malvern Theatre Players (MTP) are looking for new actors, volunteers and stage crew. In fact, there are still three choice roles left:
· Leason is a good role for a young female actor (18-30) as it's a cross-dressed role, I extended the role after the first production at the RSC's Other Place Theatre - so it's quite a meaty part now, and Leason gets to destroy one of Shakespeare's masterpieces onstage!
· Miranda (18-30) is a small role; she is also involved in the destruction of Shakespeare's play.
· Isaac Jaggard (20-35) is the son of the printer William Jaggard and has to step up his game when his father goes blind and dies.
So, if you want to tread the boards yourself and appear in the new production of Nay, Remember Me! please get in touch with Chris Bassett on 01684 569011 or email chrisb_mtp@yahoo.co.uk
Please share with your contacts! Thank you.
How can I book my tickets for the Festival?
Malvern Shakespeare Folio 400 Festival: Nay, Remember Me - Malvern Theatres (malvern-theatres.co.uk)
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