The Performers

Artistic Director Clayton Buffoni is a recipient of a Royal Shakespeare Company Director's scholarship and is the former Associate Director of Birmingham's premier classic text company, Custard Factory. Now serving as artistic director of the Hayes Gordon Repertory he brings a gifted cast of three and an uninhibited approach to Shakespeare to Australian schools.

The Performance

"As a student I remember being told how relevant Shakespeare was today. I couldn't see it. The language seemed foreign and I had no access to it. It seemed stiff and stilted. The key to unlocking the relevance of Shakespeare therefore, is to look for the opposite, the natural energy and physicality of the language. Only then can the subject matter be unleashed and its relevance revealed. Surely, it is impossible to exclude love, death and even a little madness from our lives, no matter what century we are born in." Clayton Buffoni

Shakespeare's characters need not talk in posh voices or posture in outdated clothes or be treated with a respect that creates distance. They think and feel and deal with all current issues and emotions with a depth that is entirely accessible. This performance is for anyone who has ever felt emotion or struggled with questions of identity or self worth. It is for anyone who has been in love or hopes they will be. It is for anyone who has dreamt or been afraid. Quite simply, it is for everyone. Through interlocking scenes, monologues and narrative we examine a wide range of characters including Hamlet, Juliet, Malvolio, Lear and the Macbeths. The aim is to take Shakespeare's text off the pedestal and play with it. It's a gift and it doesn't have to be kept for special occasions.