Theo Ogundipe

From the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, David Tennant, Catherine Tate and guests mark the life of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.

Hamlet has the world at his feet. Young, wealthy and living a hedonistic life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainties smashed and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a new world order he faces a stark choice. Submit, or rage against the injustice of his new reality. Simon Godwin (The Two Gentlemen of Verona 2014) directs Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet in Shakespeare's searing tragedy. As relevant today as when it was written, Hamlet confronts each of us with the mirror of our own mortality in an imperfect world. Hamlet played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until throughout summer 2016.

Against the backdrop of Hamlet, two hapless minor characters, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, take centre stage. As the young double act stumble their way in and out of the action of Shakespeare’s iconic drama, they become increasingly out of their depth as their version of the story unfolds.

King Lear has ruled for many years. As age begins to overtake him, he decides to divide his kingdom amongst his children, living out his days without the burden of power. Misjudging his children’s loyalty and finding himself alone in the wilderness, he is left to confront the mistakes of a life that has brought him to this point. Antony Sher plays King Lear, one of the greatest parts written by Shakespeare in this, one of Shakespeare’s most epic and powerful plays.

When Jordan gets into the car of a flirtatious drug-dealer, his night takes a dangerous turn.

Sophie and Paul (an aspiring musician) can't pay their London rent and turn to friends and family for support. Over the course of a summer, things go from bad to worse: The couple lose everything and find themselves lost in the underbelly of life on the streets. Though frustrated, their good humour and positivity land them odd jobs and a temporary shelter.

Alison is no girl-next-door. Dragged into a life of crime after arriving in England from Ireland. She works for small time gangster Max, whose fixation with Alison is the only reason she isn’t in prison… or dead. When she meets Sam, a damaged man with a troubled past, he opens her eyes that life can be a beautiful thing if you meet it half way.