Simon Callow in Shakespeare the Man from Stratford

Making the Bard of Avon fun and accessible without dumbing down is a difficult balance to strike, but it’s one that heavyweight thespian Simon Callow clearly relishes as he delivers this Shakespeare greatest hits package.

In a dramatic opening, lightning flashes across the stage as waves crash on a video screen and foreboding music surges around the cavernous Assembly Hall.

Resplendent in a black velvet suit, Callow launches into an excerpt from The Tempest then barely draws breath for the next 90 minutes. With not a single stumble or word out of place he skillfully tells Shakespeare’s life story, relating key events—birth, marriage, fatherhood, death—to passages from some of his most famous works. These short segments ingeniously show how the writer was influenced by every part of his upbringing and education.

It’s a staggering, multi-layered performance as Callow brings alive the England of Shakespeare’s time, complete with the Black Death, sexual scandal and mythical faeries. There’s also plenty of laughs and, while there are obscure Bard-facts galore, it never feels like a lecture.

Visual embellishments and props—including a particularly shabby remote controlled dog—add some polish to the production but it’s really all about Callow and his love of the material, as he flits from Macbeth to Hamlet with barely-contained glee.

Most of the material will be familiar to anybody with even a passing interest in the world’s most celebrated playwright, but seeing such a talented actor tackle it with such vigour is a genuine theatrical thrill.