Bill's Birthday Bash

3 May 2016

On Friday 22 April, the Literary Society held its annual celebration of the life and works of William Shakespeare. This year, ‘Bill’s Birthday Bash’ aligned with the 400th anniversary of his death, calling for an ardent celebration of his literary genius. Those who gathered in the Ugland Auditorium were certainly satisfied, enjoying readings from staff and Stoics alike.

Initially, the English Department provided the audience with an alternative comedic portrayal of a scene from ‘Henry V’. The depictions of Katherine and her lady Alice (played by Mr Palmer and Mr Purves), were particularly entertaining - their words changed from Shakespearean to slang as they were courted by the King of France (Mr Parnaby). This was followed by a reading by me and Alex Curtis (Upper Sixth, West), of ‘The Flea’ by John Donne, a contemporary of Shakespeare who would have witnessed and been influenced by his writing.

Miss Goodman also contributed to the evening’s festivities, giving a reading of ‘Sonnet 29’, in which by “desiring this man’s art” she professed her love for Gustave Courbet, the 19th Century realist painter. Then, Charles Johnson (Upper Sixth, Bruce) gave an extremely visceral performance of Edgar’s soliloquy from ‘King Lear’. The audience were moved both by his dramatic portrayal and the tragedy of Shakespeare’s words.

Mr Goldsmith finished with an extract from ‘As You Like It’. The audience was fittingly reminded of how “all the world’s a stage” and that, despite Shakespeare’s referral to the oblivion of death, he has lived on through his writing. We were all certainly able to cherish Shakespeare’s ingenuity throughout the evening, and allow his legacy to live on.

Isobelle Smith (Upper Sixth, Nugent)