The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Presents PERICLES At Jacksons Lane 

From 17 - 19 February 2022, MA Acting Classical students from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama present their reimagining of William Shakespeare's Pericles at Jacksons Lane.

For over 100 years, Central has trained many of the most pre-eminent theatre practitioners and performers in the world, from Sir Laurence Olivier, Dame Judi Dench and Dame Vanessa Redgrave to Andrew Garfield, Cush Jumbo and Riz Ahmed - who is, himself a graduate of the MA Acting Classical course.

With Pericles, this is the first time that MA Acting Classical has taken its acclaimed public production work offsite, allowing new audiences to experience this work first-hand and to enjoy performances from talented artists at the start of their professional careers.

The production also features Movement Direction from students on Central's MA/MFA Movement: Directing and Teaching course, whose graduates have gone on to work at venues including the Royal Shakespeare Company, The National Theatre, the Young Vic and the Welsh National Opera.

With their reimagining of Pericles, the creative team has breathed new life into this classic text.

Towards the end of his career Shakespeare undertook a bold experiment: how much love and then loss could he inflict on one protagonist? How much adventure and shipwreck? How many nautical miles could he cover in one play? How much life could he cram into two hours?

The answer is Pericles, the Mediterranean road-movie that some scholars believe he co-wrote with Tarantino. Rising to meet Shakespeare's dramaturgical daring head-on, this production condenses a lifetime into a moment, and asks: if you risk everything and lose it, can it still be worth it?

Of the production, Director Simon Scardifield said:

"This is the first time I've directed at Central, and it's hugely exciting to be in the Pericles rehearsal room with such an international and talented mix of students. Working with a tight cohort like this one offers something that a professional group of actors rarely gives you: a ready-made company, hungry for challenges, and with a whole load of trust and intimacy in place before you start. Anything feels possible, which is just what's needed with a big rangy play like Pericles. We have to serve up shipwreck (x2), heartbreak, politics, love, comedy - the works. So, our toolbox needs to be big and we need to rummage around deep inside it. It feels like just the right kind of fun."

MA Acting Classical Course Leader Ben Naylor said:

"I've followed and been inspired by Simon's work over many years and it's a great privilege to bring him in to work with us."

Booking for Pericles is now available direct through the Box Office at Jacksons Lane by calling 020 8340 5226 or by visiting www.jacksonslane.org.uk.

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