Actress recreates timeless speeches

Award-winning actress and screenwriter Eileen Atkins will recreate one of the most famous British actress of the 19th century to deliver two timeless speeches on Shakespeare’s Women at Theatre on the Fly in Chichester on Thursday, August 2 at 3pm.

Ellen Terry With Eileen Atkins shines a light on Shakespeare’s portrayal of women with two addresses that remain as timeless and relevant as when they were first delivered over 100 years ago, said theatre spokeswoman Debbie Plentie.

“Ellen Terry was born into a family of actors in the mid-1800s and was still a child when she first began acting in Shakespearean plays. She eventually joined the company run by actor-manager Henry Irving and for more than two decades was considered the leading Shakespearean and comic actress in Britain. Two of her most famous roles were Portia in The Merchant of Venice and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing.

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“In 1910 Terry embarked on a tour of America, delivering a series of lectures on Shakespeare’s heroines. On her return to England, she continued to present these lectures between regular stage appearances over the next few years.”

In addition to presenting the orations first delivered by Ellen Terry, Atkins will also appear at Theatre on the Fly on Sunday, August 5 to introduce a reading of Vivat! Vivat Regina! by Robert Bolt. This production premiered at Chichester in 1970. Vivat Regina! is Bolt’s powerful dramatisation of the relationship between Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots. Tickets on 01243 781312.

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