Age: 86
male
John Marwood Cleese (born 27 October 1939) is an English actor, comedian, writer and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report. In the late 1960s he became a member of Monty Python, the comedy troupe responsible for the sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus and the four Monty Python films: And Now for Something Completely Different, Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. In the mid 1970s, Cleese and his first wife Connie Booth, co-wrote and starred in the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. Later, he co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures. He also starred in Clockwise, and has appeared in many other films, including two James Bond films, two Harry Potter films, and three Shrek films. With Yes Minister writer Antony Jay he co-founded the production company Video Arts, responsible for making entertaining training films. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Cleese, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
So how do you introduce young thespians and audiences to Shakespeare without turning them off? This one-act no-set romp takes that snooty, sophisticated aura off Bill once and for all by poking fun while at the same time demonstrating his relevance to today’s modern world. What if Juliet went on “The Dating Game?” What if “Titus Andronicus” had been written as a gentle comedy of manners? What if something went wrong every time someone mentioned the word “Macbeth?” What if Othello, Iago and Desdemona appeared on “The Jerry Springer Show?” What if zombies tried to stage “Richard III?” What if the Immortal Bard of Avon married Mr. Drysedale’s secretary from “The Beverly Hillbillies?” What if a cow threw a pie at the director? With actual Shakespearean lines added into the mix, the play painlessly eases audiences and performers alike into the world of the world’s greatest playwright. On tour or in the classroom, “I Hate Shakespeare!” can be staged in a mere hour by as few as 5 performers or as many as 25, with a cast of adults or kids. Don’t forget to have a nub ready if you go blank!
