One of Britain’s greatest stage actors, Mark Rylance is set to return to the Marylebone Theatre for a one-off gala performance of Shakespeare scenes, raising funds for the independently run venue following last year’s sell-out event. He is currently in rehearsals for the venue’s upcoming production of Tartuffe (Remixed), which opens
Mark Rylance returns to the Bard with a special gala performance at Marylebone Theatre this November. The esteemed actor will be joined by friends and fellow actors to perform scenes from Shakespeare, in support of the London venue. The one-off event serves as a fundraiser for the independent theatre, which receives no public subsidy and relies entirely on the support and patronage of its audience.
In a note, Rylance said:
A note from Mark Rylance:
I realised I was missing something in London Theatre that I used to hear everywhere. Where can I hear the human voice expressing Shakespeare, or any play, without electronic amplification? Also, where can I hear Shakespeare without the play being heavily adapted, reduced by cuts and interpretation? Could we play Shakespeare for an audience more simply as we do in the rehearsal room?
In the Kabuki Theatre of Japan, they programme Acts of famous old plays, rather than the whole play. You are told the story up to that point and the characters are introduced and then you experience the Act. An evening at the Grand Kabuki might include three separate Acts from anywhere in the 400 years of the Kabuki repertoire.
Alexander and I want to launch a series of evenings that treat Shakespeare and the writers around Shakespeare similarly to the Kabuki practice. We will offer Three acts or Scenes from Shakespeare and sometimes mix in other authors from the Shakespearean age. It will be a chance to hear an act of Shakespeare just for itself and hear the contrasting styles of other acts from Shakespeare and other writers.
Full cast and text details will be announced in due course, with high demand expected following last year’s sell-out gala.
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