This weekend Official London Theatre was lucky enough to get an exclusive insight into one of the most highly-anticipated productions of the year, Shakespeare In Love.
While there is still more than a week to go until the first preview, when the curtain will finally go up on the show that tells the fictional, but brilliantly witty and romantic story of a passionate love affair between William Shakespeare and a noblewoman who yearns to be an actor, Tom Bateman and Lucy Briggs-Owen popped over to the West End LIVE Spiegeltent on Saturday to chat to us in front of an audience of theatre fans about how rehearsals are going.
Between banter and some hilarious stories of life on and off stage, the pair also offered some tantalising titbits about exactly what audiences can expect from the film to stage adaptation of the romantic comedy made famous by their screen counterparts Gwyneth Paltrow and Joseph Fiennes.
While Bateman and Briggs-Owen may have admitted to being ever so slightly intimidated following in those Hollywood footsteps, with talk of authentic music being played live on stage, dance lessons for what will no doubt be numbers sizzling with chemistry and stunning yet to be seen costumes promised, we don’t think they, or the rest of the 28-strong company, have anything to worry about.
For those of you who can’t wait for 2 July when Declan Donnellan’s production will start its run at the Noël Coward Theatre, you can get an advanced Shakespeare In Love fix by taking a sneak peek into the rehearsal room – including a look at the much-talked about canine member of the cast – with Johan Persson’s atmospheric photos above.