51³Ô¹Ïapp

A new play which imagines how Shakespeare would have found the 21^st century has earned a De 51³Ô¹Ïapp University Leicester (51³Ô¹Ïapp) academic rave reviews and an extended run.

Strange Tale, by Professor Rob Brannen, head of Performing Arts at 51³Ô¹Ïapp, debuted last year, at the Shakespeare North Playhouse.  

Throwing the Bard into the 21^st century via a hole in time, the show sees Elizabethan England and the modern day collide in an explosion of comedy, revelry, and, of course, tragedy, Strange Tale asks questions like, “What would Shakespeare think of the modern town of Prescot? What would he do at an open mic night at the pub?”.

Pulling from Shakespeare’s ‘lost years’, a time in his early life unaccounted for, in which some people theorise he lived in the northwest, the Shakespeare in Strange Tale hasn’t yet written his famous plays and poetry. The modern-day characters quickly realise that all will be lost if he can’t return to his own time.

Will isn’t the only time traveller in the show, two characters fall back into Elizabethan times, encountering the mysterious Lord Strange, to whom their phones seem to conjure forth light and sound from thin air when they put on a frenetic two-minute performance of A Midsummers Night’s Dream with the aid of a Spotify playlist.

Having garnered strong reviews and packed audiences, Strange Tale – only the second-ever production put on at the Shakespeare North – has been given a longer run, bringing its 23 strong ensemble cast back together between the 10-11 of February.

Professor Brannen said he wanted to put this clash between new and old at the forefront of the show, and endeavoured to create a show that mirrored the community it came from.  

He said: “We were focused on inclusivity and accessibility. Right from the start, our cast were from the community, teenagers to people in their 80s, we worked together to develop a show that was inclusive to actors who were neurodivergent and nonbinary… and we developed the show with the community with workshops that were open to anyone”.

Working for two years within Prescot, researching, writing and then holding open workshops with the community, alongside production company Imaginarium, Strange Tale came about organically.

“It’s almost like going to the local pantomime, the actors on the boards are neighbours, colleagues, people you know,” Prof Brannen said.

Indeed, in lieu of their theatrical accolades, the cast had their occupation listed below their names in the programmes.

“It’s almost like going to the local pantomime, the actors on the boards are neighbours, colleagues, people you know,” Prof Brannen said.  Indeed, in lieu of their theatrical accolades, the cast had their occupation listed below their names in the programmes.

But, he was clear about the depth of the show. He said: “We smuggled in a lot of Shakespearean language, little references, almost like the innuendo in pantomime.” 

With familial ties to the northwest, and particularly small theatre in Manchester and Merseyside, Professor Brannen said helped him to hold a mirror up to Prescot in a way that feels genuine.

Strange Tale will be at the Shakespeare North Playhouse, Prescot, on the 10-11 of February.