FILM SCREENING & POETRY READING WITH BRITISH STARS OF STAGE & SCREEN
8TH NOVEMBER 7PM|ST MARTIN IN THE FIELDS LONDON
On Wednesday 8th November, the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s first folio, St Martin in the Fields London will host an exclusive screening of an original film shorts collection by the BAFTA nominated film maker Jack Jewers that reimagine six of Shakespeare’s most popular speeches and poems for the 21st century.
Each film short uses Shakespeare’s 400-year-old words as a lens through which to navigate the world in which we live today. The six films are narrated by award winning actors including Tom Baker, Eliza Butterworth, Cerys Matthews, Crystal Clarke and Amber Anderson.
Themes explored in the film shorts range the war in Ukraine, to social justice protests and the impact of COVID. With uncanny parallels between our lives now, and life in 1623, these poignant film shorts demonstrate that Shakespeare’s words have never been more relevant as we find ourselves moving from pandemic to global conflict. Despite centuries of change our very human experiences of loss, joy, grief and compassion remain the same.
At this very special event on 8th November, an exclusive film screening of all six film shorts will be accompanied by readings of Shakespeare’s best loved poems performed by professional actors and special guests including Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Upstart Crow), Lindsay Duncan (Rome, Mansfield Park, Birdman), Fra Fee(Les Miserables, Cabaret, Hawkeye), Eliza Butterworth (The Last Kingdom, The North Water), Melanie Marshall(Alice in Wonderland, Casualty), Jamie Parker (Becoming Elizabeth, The History Boys), Arthur Hughes (The Innocents, Shardlake) and Allie Esiri (Howard’s End, Sharpe) who will also be signing copies of her poetry collection Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year.
My thoughts
I was delighted to be invited to take part in this amazing event by bringing you a first glimpse of one of the short films by Jack Jewers – St Crispin’s Day. The link and password below will enable you to access this moving video. You will also find the event details at the bottom of this page with a link to purchase tickets to this amazing event.
In the film short “St Crispin’s Day,” Jewers remotely directed Ukrainian civilians in bomb-stricken Kyiv, with the powerful footage providing a striking new interpretation of Shakespeare’s rousing “Band of Brothers” speech from Henry V, performed here by Eliza Butterworth (The Last Kingdom, The North Water).
St Crispin’s Day
Shakespeare text: “St Crispin’s Day” speech – Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3
Narrated by Eliza Butterworth
Watch here: https://vimeo.com/810026756 PW: INVERSE
Set to the St. Crispin’s Day speech, and movingly performed by Eliza Butterworth, the film short draws a line between the bravery of the Ukrainian people and Shakespeare’s rousing words of courage from Henry V – the most famous battle cry in all of fiction.
At first glance it could seem a strange choice to soundtrack images of the devastation in Ukraine with what is essentially a battle cry, King Henry rallying his troops on the eve of war. But what has always struck me about Henry V – and, quite frankly, most other artistic interpretations of great wars – is that it only ever talks about the soldiers. What we don’t get to see are the people left at home. The partners, the children, the older people. And they are, lest we forget, fighting a war of their own.
With this film, that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to show those people, the ones we don’t see celebrated, on their own battleground. One that is so strikingly familiar to us – a petrol station, a coffee shop, a supermarket. Places you and I go every day, now reduced to rubble. The resilience of the Ukrainian people has astonished me. Ultimately, the St Crispin’s Day speech is a battle cry, yes. But there is more than one way of fighting a battle.
Jack Jewers
The film employed an innovative production method, with Jack Jewers remotely directing a local journalist, Lydia Huzhva, who filmed the striking images on the ground in Kyiv, in September 2022. Eliza Butterworth was one of the breakout stars of Netflix’s smash hit The Last Kingdom, playing fan favourite Lady Aelswith, and is currently starring in A Town Called Malice on Sky Max.
ABOUT THE EXTRACTS
The six extracts that the have been reimagined for a 21st century audience are:
· “Seven Ages of Man” from As You Like, Act 2, Scene 7
· “St Crispin’s Day” from Henry V, Act 4 Scene 3
· “The Stranger’s Case” – speech contributed by Shakespeare to an unperformed play
· Sonnet 94 (“They That Have Power to Hurt”)
· “We are such stuff as dreams are made on” from The Tempest, Act 4 Scene
· “More strange than true” speech from A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream, Act 5 Scene
ABOUT JACK JEWERS
Jack Jewers is a filmmaker and writer. Passionate about telling stories in all media, his body of work crosses film, TV, and digital. His short films and web series have been shown in and out of competition at dozens of film and web festivals, including Cannes, New York, Washington D.C., Marseille, Dublin, and London’s FrightFest.
The first series of inVerse was released to critical acclaim in 2021. Jack has won several accolades for his film work, including an award from the Royal Television Society and a nomination for Best Short Film by BAFTA Wales. He has been invited to speak about his work at several major film and TV industry events, including Series Mania in Paris. Jack has also worked in advertising.
Jack’s numerous short films as director include the ground breaking Shalom Kabul, a dark comedy based on the true story of the last two Jews of Afghanistan. In 2014 he developed and directed Night School, a web series based on the popular young adult novels of the same name. It quickly grew from a couple of low-budget short films to become one of the highest-profile British web series to date.
Away from the cinema in all its forms, Jack has a deep interest in literature and history. His debut novel, The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys, was named one of the best historical fiction books of 2022 by The Times. He is co-chair of the Moon Queen Media Group, which includes the TV and film production company, Queen Anne’s Revenge, and the award-winning indie publisher, Moonflower Books.
He lives near London with his wife, the author Christi Daugherty.
TRAILER
Folio 400: A celebration of Shakespeare through film and poetry
On 8th November, St Martins will host an exclusive screening of the six film shorts accompanied by a selection of Shakespeare’s best loved poems performed by professional actors and special guests.
As part of the celebrations for Folio 400, the 400thanniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s first folio in 2023, BAFTA nominated film maker Jack Jewers has taken six of Shakespeare’s most popular speeches and poems and reimagined them for the 21stcentury. Each film uses Shakespeare’s 400 year old words as a lens through which to navigate the world in which we live today.
Jack Jewers’ innovative approach to film-making for this original shorts collection saw him send a speech from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, along with a portrait of Shakespeare, into space, in the film short “Lovers and Madmen” narrated by Tom Baker (Dr Who).
In the film short “St Crispin’s Day,” Jewers remotely directed Ukrainian civilians in bomb-stricken Kyiv, with the powerful footage providing a striking new interpretation of Shakespeare’s rousing “Band of Brothers” speech from Henry V, performed here by Eliza Butterworth (The Last Kingdom, The North Water).
Written 400 years ago “The Strangers Case” is an intensely moving speech is an impassioned defence of refugees that rings as true today as it did in 1597. The film short uses real footage of refugees at sea and is voiced by Crystal Clarke (Sanderton, Empire of Light) with a stunning central performance from actor Yasin Morad who came to the UK as a refugee.
In “All the World’s A Stage”, Jewers invited international university students to narrate the famous speech from As You Like It in their first languages, as an exploration of British multiculturalism in the face of ever-changing immigration laws, and as a celebration of the universality of Shakespeare’s words.
For the film short “They That Have Power to Hurt”musician and BBC presenter Cerys Matthewsnarrates Sonnet 94. Traditionally seen as a love poem, here Jewers uses Shakespeare’s words to explore a rising sense of unrest and the tension between activists and law enforcement all over the world, as well as illustrating the power and complexities of protest movements.
Taken from The Tempest, “Our Revels Now Are Ended” narrated by Amber Anderson (Emma, Peaky Blinders) deals with themes of loneliness and isolation caused by the pandemic – but also the feeling of liberation and celebration that reuniting with loved ones brought when lockdown ended.
Guest Speakers
Gemma Whelan (Game of Thrones, Upstart Crow)
Lindsay Duncan (Rome, Mansfield Park, Birdman)
Fra Fee (Les Miserables, Cabaret, Hawkeye)
Eliza Butterworth (The Last Kingdom, The North Water)
Melanie Marshall (Alice in Wonderland, Casualty)
Jamie Parker (Becoming Elizabeth, The History Boys)
Allie Esiri (Howard’s End, Sharpe)
Arthur Hughes (The Innocents, Shardlake)
Date: Wednesday 8th November
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Ticket Price: £8
Website & Tickets: https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/calendar/folio-400/
Location: St Martin in the Fields London
Address: St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 4JJ
Nearest Tube: Charing Cross, Leicester Square
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