Mark Rylance to Appear in One-Off Performance at The Old Vic

Mark Rylance and Sean Foley are to appear in special one-off performance at Old Vic of I Am Shakespeare as part of the 100th anniversary of the Shakespearean Authorship Trust.

I Am Shakespeare is Rylance's first play that he wrote in 2007 for the Chichester Festival Theatre. He will be joined by Sean Foley as Barry Wild, Alex Hassell as Edward de Vere, Colin Hurley as William Shakspar, Sam Parks as Sergeant Trevor Freeman/His Twin/Telephone Salesman, Juliet Rylance as Lady Mary Sidney.

The piece will be narrated by Annabel Leventon and feature music by Claire van Kampen.

Rylance said: "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."

The performance will be on November 27 at 3pm at The Old Vic and will be followed by a Q&A.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride

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