London 2012 Launches Shakespearian Film

“This film gives a hint of what’s to come as we celebrate Shakespeare as the world’s playwright.”

The London 2012 Festival marked Shakespeare’s birthday on Monday (23 April) with the launch of a short film produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company that features Olympic and Paralympic athletes coming together for the opening of the World Shakespeare Festival.

The film includes some of Great Britain’s leading actors and athletes reciting the text from The Tempest that inspired Danny Boyle’s “Isles of Wonder” title for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony.

The one-minute film features the stars of sport and theatre reading one or several lines of The Tempest Act 3, Scene 2.

“The Festival’s spiritual heartland will be Stratford-upon-Avon, but there will be a presence across 10 theatres, galleries and museums in London and it will reach almost every corner of the British Isles, as well as broadcast and online,” said Deborah Shaw, director of the festival.

“This film gives a hint of what’s to come as we celebrate Shakespeare as the world’s playwright.”

The stars from stage and screen include: Ray Fearon and Adjoa Andoh who play lead roles in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Julius Caesar; Meera Syal who is playing Beatrice in the RSC’s Much Ado about Nothing; and Simon Russell Beale who is playing the title role in the National Theatre’s production of Timon of Athens.

They are joined by Olympic gold medallist and current triple jump world-record holder Jonathan Edwards, Paralympic medal winner Ade Adepitan and 110m hurdler William Sharman.

“The London 2012 Festival will showcase our world leading arts and culture when the eyes of the world are on the UK this summer, and it's clear that artists just as athletes are looking to the best work of their lives,” Edwards said.

The film will be sent to hundreds of thousands of fans on the London 2012 database and used across social media platforms to promote the opening of the World Shakespeare Festival.

The London 2012 Festival is a 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from Great Britain from 21 June – 9 September. It will celebrate the range, quality and accessibility of Great Britain’s world-class culture including dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, fashion, film and digital innovation. It will also give people the opportunity to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.