Neil Sheppeck. U.K.
Neil Sheppeck has been directing and performing Shakespeare since graduating Guildhall School of Music & Drama in 1998.
Neil has put most of his creative energy into Love&Madness, directing: Macbeth; Othello; Accidental Death of an Anarchist; Fool For Love; A Taste of Honey; Romeo and Juliet; Twelfth Night; The Playboy of the Western World; Frankenstein; La Ronde; and performing as: Macbeth; Iago; Romeo; Malvolio; Henry V; Caliban; Stephen Blackpool in Hard Times; Lockwood in Wuthering Heights; Captain Walton in Frankenstein; Richmond in Richard III; Martin in Fool For Love.
Other directing includes: The Picture of Dorian Gray (Lewis Live), As You Like It, and Romeo and Juliet (GB Theatre), Upstage (Camden People's Theatre).
Other theatre acting includes: Inherit The Wind (Old Vic); Guards! Guards! (Fleighton); Softcops and Grace (Finborough); Much Ado About Nothing (Northern Broadsides); Count Oederland (White Bear); plus various projects at the National Theatre Studio.
His love of Shakespeare started from an early age, and has worked with many great Shakespearian directors and actors including Sir Trevor Nunn, Barrie Rutter, Patzy Rodenburg, Jack Shepherd, David Troughton and Kevin Spacey.
Demystifying Shakespeare!
A lot of performers find Shakespeare intimidating – “I don’t understand the language”, “What is blank verse and iambic pentameter?”, “Why do Shakespearian Actors use a silly voice?”. In this workshop, we’ll be exploring the text and making it accessible to us as performers. We’ll delve into the language and making each word we speak specific. We’ll explore the rhythm of the verse and how to use it in rehearsal and performance. Finally, we’ll play with the energy and breath needed to perform Shakespeare. Each participant will receive some Shakespearian text to learn before the workshop, that we will use - and if there’s time, we’ll look at any individual speeches that participants have brought with them. A fun and informative workshop that will enable actors to reclaim Shakespeare for themselves.