SHAKE-SPEARE

A DEMASQUERADE

Who was Shakespeare? There is ample reason to doubt it was the man from Stratford . Anyone taking their Shakespeare seriously, will sooner or later stumble on huge incongruities in the conventional point of view. Since the 19th century there has been an ongoing debate about the authorship of Shakespeare's canon with several candidates having been put forward as the true author. Of these, as you will find in the Encyclopedia Britannica, an Elizabethan nobleman called Edward de Vere (the 17th Earl of Oxford), has emerged as the strongest alternative to the man from Stratford.

In our doco-drama we show how Shakespeare's plays & poems reflect the life of Edward de Vere (Oxford) in stunning detail. And a great detective story it makes indeed. The pieces of the puzzle fall into place because the right man is credited with the authorship: it makes sense socially, historically, politically, and psychologically! Two narrators, Oxford 's contemporaries Mary Sidney and Francis Bacon, help paint the political and social background for our contemporary audience, while our cast of historical personages comes to life. Dramatic and documentary styles are woven into a design concept which incorporates slide projection, shadow-play and fluidity of spatial arrangements.

SHAKE-SPEARE is created and directed by Graham Jones and Jepke Goudsmit. Roger Dean, of AustraLYSIS and DrMetagroove fame, created its original electronic score. This is complemented with live and recorded songs and music from Elizabethan times, by composers such as Byrd, Dowland and Morley. The production is a rich educational experience for those studying English, History and Drama.

SHAKE-SPEARE is a project in three parts: Part 1 concentrates on Oxford's youth (until his 25th year), Part 2 zooms in on his middle years (until his 40th), while Part 3 is set in the present, tackling the ongoing saga of the greatest ever literary fraud, and looks back to Oxford's later years. Each part is a play in its own right.

Parts 1& 2 premiered in Sydney in June 2004, then were shown at Newcastle University , followed by an international tour to Baltimore (USA ) and the UK in the end of ‘04. Since then Jones & Goudsmit rewrote the plays for a cast of seven. The new SHAKE-SPEARE Part 1 premiered at their theatre laboratory in Enmore in May 2008. Part 2 will open there in April 2009.

SHAKE-SPEARE Part 2
April 17 - 19, 24 - 26, May 1 - 3, 8 - 10
at St Luke's Hall, 11 Stanmore Rd, Enmore
Fri-Sat 7.30 pm, Sun 6.30 pm

The honor roll of supporters for Edward de Vere as Shakespeare has become too impressive to deny. Lesley Howard, Orson Welles, Charles Chaplin, Michael York, John Gielgud, Derek Jacobi and Jeremy Irons head the list of thespians, to name a few.
The question hanging over the authorship has gathered new momentum following a “Declaration of Doubt” , launched by Jacobi and other prominent doubters last September
(www.doubtaboutwill.org).





Photographs by Corrie Ancone - www.corrieancone.com