This was another show touring shortly after a highly successful run at this year's Edinburgh festival. Simon Callow, star of stage, screen, film and literature is no stranger to the world of the one-man show. A few year's ago he delighted audiences ( including here in Cardiff) with his Charles Dickens evening ( a role he re-created in a Christopher Eccleston Dr Who episode).
Tonight's recipient of his sublime talent was William Shakespeare. Director Jonathan Bate chose to go with a predictable format of using his words to follow the course of the Bard's life. This, of course, gave the star of " Four Weddings And A Funeral" the opportunity to display his great vocal technique but seemed to lack any great depth or emotion. It doesn't help that little is really known about Stratford's greatest son and there are big gaps in his middle years leading to a lot of conjecture.
However, the evening had two great plusses. Firstly the chance to see a great actor in full flow and secondly to hear some of the greatest speeches ever written. An impressive combination.
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