Last Will and Testament — New Shakespeare Authorship Documentary Previews at Shakespeare’s Globe in London November 27, 2011

Shakespearean Authorship Trust Conference 2011

http://www.shakespeareanauthorshiptrust.org.uk/pages/conf.htm

The Shakespearean Authorship Trust, in collaboration with Brunel University, hosts an advance screening of a major new authorship documentary, Last Will. & Testament at Shakespeare’s Globe on Sunday 27 November.

At a time when the Shakespeare world is being rocked by the imminent appearance of Roland Emmerich’s feature film, Anonymous, as well as the publication of several books based on new research, including Richard Roe’s The Shakespeare Guide to Italy and Katherine Chiljan’s Shakespeare Suppressed, there comes the first major documentary on the authorship question for 22 years. The timing could not be better, and we are very fortunate to have the film’s director Lisa Wilson with us to introduce the work and answer questions on it. (Lisa was also a consultant on Anonymous, and is a trustee of the SAT.) She will be joined by no fewer than seven luminaries who took part in the documentary: Diana Price, author of Shakespeare’s Unorthodox Biography, Professor Roger Stritmatter of Coppin State University in Baltimore, actors Sir Derek Jacobi* and Vanessa Redgrave*, the Chairman of the SAT, Mark Rylance, Dr. William Leahy, Head of the School of Arts at Brunel University, and Charles Beauclerk, author of Shakespeare’s Lost Kingdom.

Last Will. & Testament is a 90-minute film that explores the evolution of the authorship question since Shakespeare’s time, with particular reference to William Shakspere of Stratford and Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, though other candidates are discussed. Among those defending the orthodox position are Stanley Wells and Jonathan Bate, both of whom were invited to speak at the conference. The documentary is beautifully shot and has exclusive access to footage of Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous, which is due for general release on 28 October 2011. The film will be shown in three parts in order to give conference attendees proper time to digest and discuss the material as the day unfolds. It promises to be a fascinating and provocative experience, with plenty of opportunity for the audience to engage with guest speakers.
*subject to availability

Date: Sunday 27 November 2011
Time: 11:00 – 18:15 (Tea and coffee available from 10:30)
Venue: Shakespeare’s Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside,               London, SE1 9DT
Tickets: £35 (including tea and coffee)
Booking: Shakespeare’s Globe Box Office: Tel: 020 7401 9919
Booking opens: 17 October 2011

Click here for the programme schedule in pdf format.

Shapiro to discuss hot book March 24

London Times Literary Editor Andrew Holgate named James Shapiro’s April 2010 Simon & Schuster release Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare one of a dozen hottest books of the year in his January 10, 2010 article, “The hottest books of the year” in the Sunday Times. Holgate said:

Shapiro has already proved, with 1599, that he has a remarkable ability to make Shakespeare scholarship both original and accessible. This outstanding piece of literary elucidation examines 200 years of heated argument over who really wrote Shakespeare’s plays — a debate that has involved everyone from Sigmund Freud to Orson Welles and Henry James.

Shapiro will discuss Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare? at Shakespeare’s Globe in London at 6 p.m. on March 24. The event is announced on the Shakespeare’s Globe website, “James Shapiro, author of the bestselling and prizewinning book 1599, talks about Contested Will – his definitive investigation into who wrote Shakespeare’s plays.”

UPDATE Feb. 8, 12:46 p.m.: Andrew Holgate commented — Shapiro will also be appearing at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival on Thursday, March 25 at 8pm. To book tickets, go to www.oxfordliteraryfestival.com

SAT Gathering Nov. 15

The Shakespeare Authorship Trust will hold its “Gathering for all Authorship Hunter Gatherers: Challenging Authority” November 15, 2009 at Shakespeare’s Globe, Bankside, London. The program, hosted by Mark Rylance and Dr. William Leahy, will feature presentations by Mrs. Frieda Barker, Charles Beauclerk & Mark Rylance, Robert Nield & Joan Robinson, Claire van Kampen, and Robin Williams. Guest readers Mark Rylance & Friends – Vanessa Redgrave, Fiona Shaw, and Derek Jacobi are scheduled depending on their availability on the day of the event. For information, see:
http://www.shakespeareanauthorshiptrust.org.uk/pages/conf.htm

London Globe celebrates Rowe

De Vere Society Secretary Richard Malim reports that Shakespeare’s Globe in London will hold a series of events to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the first biography of Shakespeare published in 1709 by Nicholas Rowe.

The kick-off event is a one-day symposium on the function and critical value of Shakespeare biographies titled, “Shakespeare: from Rowe to Shapiro” to be held 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. November 28, 2009 at the Nancy Knowles Lecture Theatre, Shakespeare’s Globe, 21 New Globe Walk, Bankside, London.

Speakers will include Stanley Wells, Michael Caines, Brian Cummings, Andrew Dickson, Helen Hackett, Graham Holderness, Andrew Murphy, Rene Weis, Richard Wilson, and James Shapiro.

“Should be fun, if questions are allowed,” Malim said.

Also included in the series of events:
On December 1 “Searching for Shakespeare” documentary film maker Michael Wood will speak, and on December 9 The Reckoning author Charles Nicholl will speak. For more information, see:
http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/globeeducation/publicevents/shakespearebiography/