SHAKESPEARE is being brought back to life on the silver screen.
Sir Kenneth Branagh is both behind and in front of the camera as he directs and stars in ‘All is True’ set to hit UK screens next year.
Joining Sir Kenneth’s Shakespeare are RSC regulars Dame Judi Dench as the playwright’s wife Anne Hathaway, and Ian McKellen as the Earl of Southampton.
The screenplay, penned by Ben Elton, focuses on the bard’s final years following the fire which devastated the Globe Theatre in London in 1613.
Upon returning to his home town, Shakespeare struggles to come to terms with the death of his only son Hamnet and to face his troubled marriage.
To prepare for the film, Sir Kenneth visited the bard’s family homes – cared for by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT) – to get a taste of what domestic life would have been like for the elusive author, little of whose later years is known.
SBT’s head of research Paul Edmondson was honoured to be given a sneak peek at the script.
He said: “No one has done more than Sir Kenneth Branagh to popularise Shakespeare through the medium of film.
“Our conversations started back in the summer when I arranged for him to visit the Birthplace, New Place, Hall’s Croft, and Shakespeare’s grave at Holy Trinity Church, and I was thrilled when he invited me to comment on the script for his new film. I’ve admired Sir Ken’s work for three decades, and he has long been a friend of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
“I can’t wait to see the film with Dame Judi Dench as Anne, Sir Ian McKellen as the Earl of Southampton, and Sir Ken himself as William Shakespeare.”
‘All is True’ is set to be released in the UK next year.
