Marking a whole year since we closed our doors, we have created a short film using Shakespeare’s words to express our shared sense of loss.
Directed by Artistic Director Gregory Doran, the film features Sonnets 97 and 98, which describe how hard it is to bear the absence of a loved one, spoken over a montage of photos. Many of the pictures are from Warwickshire-based freelance photographer Sam Allard, who documented our empty theatres last August in a series of images called A Moment in Time.
Gregory said about the video: "Whether you have missed sitting in a theatre, working behind the scenes, or standing on a stage, this is a little reflection for you to enjoy, in the hope of spring and of reopening soon."
The sonnets are spoken by actors Lucy Phelps and James Cooney, who were both on tour with us in Newcastle when the theatres closed on 16 March 2020, with musical accompaniment from our house band guitarist Nick Lee, playing John Dowland's "Lachrimae".
