Magdalen President Dinah Rose KC will join Lee Mack, Paterson Joseph, Richard Ayoade, Professor Emma Smith, lawyers Kate Gallafent KC, Edward Henry KC, Andrew Hochhauser KC, and High Court Judge Dame Joanna Smith on stage at London’s Criterion Theatre for Is Shakespeare Funny? The Trial of Shakespeare on Monday 8 December.
The event is a fundraiser for the Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, which runs the world’s largest youth drama festival. The charity gives pupils from all communities and backgrounds the chance to perform Shakespeare on professional theatre stages across the UK, including at Magdalen College.
In this part-scripted, part-improvised event, comedian Will Kemp has walked out of Shakespeare’s acting company and taken the playwright to court, claiming he was forced out by having to perform Shakespeare’s terrible jokes night after night. Under the eyes of a High Court Judge, Dinah and her fellow lawyers will cross-examine expert scholars and leading actors as they take to the witness box to defend or condemn our national poet.
Is Shakespeare Funny? – The Trial of Shakespeare takes place at 7.30 pm on Monday 8 December at the Criterion Theatre, London. To book tickets, visit criterion-theatre.co.uk/thetrialofshakespeare.