Chris Humphreys, Shakespeare 1600
Neil Dickson, The Standard Bearer
Shakespeare 1600:
What was going on when William Shakespeare wrote The Tragedy of Hamlet? What were the worlds – social, political, religious, theatrical – from which the greatest game changer in literature arose?
Join Chris as he delves into that late Elizabethan world. As he explores what people felt and believed, how they lived, loved, worked and entertained themselves. And learn how William Shakespeare observed and harnessed those times to create his wonderful dramas. This is no lecture, for not only does Chris wear pantaloons, hose, doublet and ruff, he also leaps around with bladed weaponry, while exploring the verse with soliloquies from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V and, of course, Hamlet.
The Standard Bearer:
It is a hot evening in 1980 and a rather anxious British thespian is touring former British colonies in East Africa with his wife and a stage manager, taking a program of Shakespeare to the villages and townships, following in the tradition of his grandfather. After a long, frustrating day travelling across the bush, they arrive very late, things don’t go according to plan, and he is forced to confront his very existence!
The Standard Bearer is written by Stephen Wyatt, directed by Julian Sands, and performed by Neil Dickson.
Chris Humphreys and Neil Dickson:
Chris and Neil met 30 years ago in Tunisia on the set of a Biblical-Roman epic. Now Neil Dickson (Dynasty) and Chris Humphreys (Coronation Street) reunite to explore their first love: Shakespeare.
Neil Dickson is a graduate of London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. His career has balanced film, theatre, television and radio. After several seasons in repertory throughout the UK, he made his West End debut in London under the direction of Sir John Gielgud and opposite Dame Judi Dench in The Gay Lord Quex. Neil’s film and television work includes: the title role of James Bigglesworth in Biggles: Adventures in Time; Inland Empire; Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion; Atlas Shrugged; She Wolf of London; Sliders; Mad Men; and upcoming in David Lynch’s new Twin Peaks. He performed the one man play The Standard Bearer in London, Los Angeles and San Francisco to critical acclaim. Neil is one of the original mentors of the ground-breaking Los Angeles Inner City Shakespeare Ensemble.
Like Neil, Chris (C.C.) Humphreys graduated from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Chris has performed on stages from London’s West End to Hollywood…to Mouat’s Park in the recent A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which he directed as well as taking the starring role. Chris’s roles include Clive Parnell in Coronation Street, the gladiator Caleb in AD, and Hamlet. A playwright, fight choreographer and novelist, Chris has written 15 novels including The French Executioner and Shakespeare’s Rebel, which he adapted for the stage and which premiered at Bard on the Beach in Vancouver in 2015. Chris also writes for young adults, his latest title being The Hunt for the Dragon. His novel Plague won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel in 2015. The sequel, Fire, was published summer 2016. Both Fire and Plague have been Canadian bestsellers. Chris’ work has been translated into 13 languages.
Proudly sponsored by Victoria Olchowecki.