Shakespeare Between The Sheets
The timeless words of Shakespeare, interspersed with piano classics, told and played live in this one-person show.
New to Willow Globe, Edward Derbyshire presents new takes on the words of some of Shakespeare's most famous characters, performed with live piano music as part of each character's journey.
Nicholas Bottom has always dreamt of being a performer. At Nick’s insistence, when just eleven years old, his father grudgingly bought Nicholas an old keyboard, and he taught himself the fundamentals before attending lessons with a purple-haired grandmother down the lane (you know, the one with the Afghan hound called Baboushka). Always in the background and spurned by his peers, who considered him rather ridiculous and certainly no scholar, Nick put his desire to take to the stage on hold for many years…until now. But, just as a peascod will expand and finally burst when exposed to the sun, so has Bottom at last come forth into the light of day (and moonlight) to share his story with you. With more than generous help from a very famous playwright, Nicholas also explores the nature and environment that surrounds us all, using several of said playwright’s most beloved characters and moments to highlight what we town-dwellers see, yet do not see, in a passionate invocation of the need to save our planet.
Much of this is a story you may know. Join Bottom on his journey as he narrates how it all began, muses upon the environment, falls into a daydream, and finally brings his masterpiece, hidden for all these years in the bole of an oak tree in the forest, to fruition at last. Though, as we all know, the fairies at the bottom of the garden might have the last say…
At your gracious pleasure, as part of his story, Bottom would like to play you many pieces, including:
Prelude in C, J.S. Bach
Round and round the garden, N. Bottom
Abendsblume (with a naughty twinkle), B. Heller
The ‘Moonlight’ Sonata, L. van Beethoven
The Ousel Cock, N. Bottom
You Spotted Snakes, N. Bottom
O for the wings, F. Mendelssohn
Prelude in C, D. Shostakovich
Starry Dome, G. Nevada
Give Glimmering Light, N. Bottom
Of course, Nicholas wasn’t the only one to think of such a sequence of events. The Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi fell asleep in his garden and dreamt he was a beautiful butterfly. He flew here and there, then, as a butterfly fell asleep. In his dream, the handsome butterfly dreamt that he was the philosopher Zhuangzi, before falling into slumber. The philosopher Zhuangzi then woke up. However, he did not know whether he was the Zhuangzi who has dreamt of the butterfly, or the Zhuangzi in the butterfly’s dream.
Perhaps Bottom will write a play about this one day…
Running time 90 minutes plus interval
Tickets: Adults £14, U16s £7, Family (2 adults, 2 U16s) £35
