SAT Conference 2022
One Hundred Years of the SAT
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust, we are pleased to announce:
A special one-off performance with
Mark Rylance and Sean Foley
Sunday • November 27 • 3 to 6 p.m.
in a rehearsed reading of
I Am Shakespeare
a comedy of Shakespearean identity crisis
written by Mark Rylance
at THE OLD VIC in London
General public booking begins October 24 • 12 p.m. BST
www.OldVicTheatre.com/stage/event/i-am-shakespeare
Tickets: £16 to £65
“This is the first play I wrote for Chichester Festival Theatre in 2007 after leaving The Globe. Matthew Warchus directed, and the company developed the idea. I wrote about something I knew about, the Shakespeare Authorship Question and the many wonderful people I have met who support different candidates. It is a question some people take very seriously and that makes it a good subject matter for comedy. The play says everything I want to say about the question. I am delighted to revive it for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust, who financed the authentic recreation of clothing for the four candidates who appear in the play: Francis Bacon, the Earl of Oxford, Mary Sidney, and of course William Shakespeare himself. Jenny Tiramani, Director of the School of Historical Dress in Lambeth, and my associate designer during my time at the Globe, painstakingly researched and constructed these authentic clothes. They will be on show at The Old Vic. Kirk Douglas, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Tony Curtis will all be appearing as well.”
—Mark Rylance
I AM SHAKESPEARE
Written by Mark Rylance
“I mean, it’s got to be the man from Stratford. They’ve got his birthplace and Anne Hathaway’s cottage. I went there once on Mrs. Somerville’s school trip.”
The “authorised version” isn’t always the whole story.
Mark Rylance and cast perform in a unique and intimate one-off rehearsed reading of his play I Am Shakespeare—a witty and fascinating exploration of a literary puzzle that may never be solved.
English teacher Frank Charlton sits in his garage in Maidstone, recording yet another live webcast about the true authorship of Shakespeare’s plays. As usual, most of the hotline calls come from his neighbour, Barry. But on this particular night Frank receives some unexpected visitors—and they’ve got cases to make.
A comical and curious play from the mind of one of the most commended modern Shakespearean actors, I Am Shakespeare probes the unknown and prods our love of certainty.
Performed by Sean Foley, Alex Hassell, Colin Hurley, Sam Parks, Juliet Rylance, and Mark Rylance; narrated by Annabel Leventon, with music by Claire van Kampen.
The rehearsed reading will be accompanied by a Q&A with Mark Rylance and talks from the cast and Shakespearean Authorship Trustees in celebration of the Trust’s 100th anniversary.
Inquiries:
info@ShakespeareanAuthorshipTrust.org.uk
Do you want priority booking as an SAT Member?