The words love in isolation float above images of 5 people participating in the project

Love in Isolation

In times of solitude from their place of sanctuary, artists share some of the greatest words ever written

To celebrate Shakespeare’s 456th birthday, we invited artists to perform Shakespeare’s words (quotes, sonnets, soliloquies or even stage directions!) from their place of social distancing. We hope these words will inspire and comfort you wherever you are. #LoveInIsolation

We partnered with The Guardian on our Love in Isolation project to relaunch their Shakespeare Solos series. Originally created in 2016 to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death, this is a video series of leading actors performing some of Shakespeare’s greatest speeches.

For this new collaboration, The Guardian invited the general public to join leading actors in performing three of Shakespeare’s iconic speeches from As You Like It, Hamlet and The Tempest, their place of self-isolation. Over 500 people from around the world submitted and a selection of those performances have been edited together here as part of the relaunch of Shakespeare Solos.

All the world's a stage | Shakespeare Solos

SHAKESPEARE & LOVE IN ISOLATION

Marcello Magni, Sonnet 27

Niamh Cusack featuring Finbar Lynch, Sonnet 130

David Perkins, As You Like It, Act II, scene 7

Amanda Wright, Sonnet 127

Emma Ernest, Much Ado About Nothing, Act I, scene 3

Jo Stone-Fewings, Henry V, Act III

Beruce Khan, Hamlet, Act I, scene 3

Siân Williams, The Tempest, Act II, scene 2

Band of Mothers, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act II, scene 1

Mara Allen, Measure for Measure, Act IV, scene 1

Samantha Spiro, Sonnet 98

Maddy Hill, Cymbeline, Act I, scene 3

Tom Chapman (and Mymble), Sonnet 57

Stephenson Ardern-Sodje, Sonnet 55

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Measure for Measure, Act II, scene 4

Helen Schlesinger, Henry IV Part 2, Act IV, scene 2

Michael Gould, Twelfth Night, Act I, scene 1

Kathryn Hunter, King Lear, Act IV, scene 6

Katy Stephens, Titus Andronicus, Act V, scene 2 & 3

Paul Chahidi, Twelfth Night, Act II, scene 3

Ellie Piercy, King John, Act III, scene 4

Jade Anouka, Twelfth Night, Act II, scene 2

Jenifer Toksvig, The Tempest, Act IV, scene 1

Catrin Aaron, As You Like It, Act II, scene 1

Sophie Stone, As You Like It, Act II, scene 7

Philip Cumbus, Romeo & Juliet, Act I, scene 4

Paul Ready, As You Like It, Act II, scene 7

Nadia Albina, Sonnet 47

Alfred Enoch, The Tempest, Act IV, scene 1

Athena Stevens, Romeo & Juliet, Act III, scene 2

Shubham Saraf, Richard II, Act V, scene 5

Stephen Fry, Sonnet 29

LOVE IN ISOLATION WITH COMPASS COLLECTIVE

As part of Refugee Week 2020, we invited our friends at Compass Collective to contribute to our Love in Isolation series. Ali, Talal, Mohamed and Massihullah are all young actors who have been working with us and Compass Collective to create their own versions of Shakespeare’s iconic speeches.

Ali, King Lear, Act II, scene 3

Talal, As You Like It, Act II, scene 2

Mohamed, Romeo and Juliet, Act III, scene 3

Massihullah, Hamlet, Act III, scene 2

LOVE IN ISOLATION ON THE PODCAST

Globe Magazine Article Love in Isolation Romeo and Juliet 2019 Such Stuff S5 E3
Such Stuff 

#SuchStuff s5 e3: Love in Isolation

Listen

Listen to the latest Such Stuff  podcast episode in which the Globe’s Artistic Director Michelle Terry and theatre director Peter Brook discuss the unique power of the sonnets during this time.

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