STOP PRESS - on June 6th, Rakie won Best Supporting Actress at the #BAFTA's for her role in #Anthony on #BBC1

Film, theatre and television actor #RakieAyola said in a recent interview in the Financial Times that Bill Alexander was her mentor and set her love of Shakespeare.

#RSCHonoraryAssociateArtist Bill is an Associate Director with Shakespeare in Italy. We are planning to stage his abridged six-character version called A Merchant of Venice later this year at The Playground Theatre in London W10.

Rakie, who recently starred in the ITV drama #Grace was named best female actor in the #2020BlackBritishTheatreAwards for her performance in On Bear Ridge. Her other television appearances have included Anthony and Noughts & Crosses.

In the interview she says: “Director Bill Alexander, who I did a lot of plays with in the 1990s set my love of Shakespeare.” She also describes her drama teacher at school and head of studies at the Welsh College of Music and Drama, together with actor girlfriends in a creative network as being mentors.

She adds further: “I’d love to do a costume drama. In period drama you can be larger and fruitier and juicier!”

It was 30 years ago, she says, that she wrote to the head of drama at ITV and said “why do I never see black people in your dramas?” He gave her one line and it got her a job. “I've been running on that ever since. Saying the thing that people want to say, but don’t, for fear of never working again.”

Rakie stars in the #BBC1 crime thriller #ThePact which begins on Monday May 17th.

 #BAFTA #BestSupportingActress

 

Sharing Shakespeare Workshops - a week-long summer school of theatre courses | Line-Up (lineupnow.com)

Click on the link above to book. 

Janet directed Hamlet for the RSC in 2006. We share passages, soliloquies, and monologues for an hour and a half of pure joy with one of Shakespeare’s greatest ever acting Dames. Bring along your favourites and Janet will help us to discover how to lift them off the page! #shareyourshakespeare

#janetsuzman

Tickets available here >> https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing?eid=18218

Picture: Dame Janet as Lady M in a BBC production, 1970.

Actors #LachlanForlong and #MartinNicholls star in Mark Daniel's comedy - pls see below

#blackcomedy #farce #twohander #upandcomingplaywright #upandcomingcomedian

Sharing Shakespeare Summer School 
14-19 June, 10 to 4.30 and 5.30 to 9.30pm
with Lucy Bailey, Michael Corbidge, Philip Cumbus, Sarah Sayeed and Emma Lucia Hands 

BOOKING LINK 

Sharing Shakespeare Workshops - a week-long summer school of theatre courses | Line-Up (lineupnow.com)

* discount for whole school booking and under-25s get 25 per cent off! 

* open to all 

* unique access to practitioners working at the top of their profession 

* check out our brochure for all the details 

* once on the landing page for the booking line you will see a calendar - click on the time and date for the workshop you want to book

(you can book the whole school by clicking on 10am, Monday, June 14. Under 25s can claim their discount as it asks for payment. There is also the option to book all three of Sarah Sayeed's workshops at a discount price.)

#summerschool #standingscenesup #actorslife #theatrestudies #theatrelovers #shakespearelovers #shakespeare #actors #directors #lockdowneasing #gettingtogether #enjoyment #laughter #funtimes #sceneexploration #ShareYourShakespeare