Couple delights neighbours with Shakespeare performance in their front garden

Couple Bruce and Philipa Holman have put on a show for their neighbours in Idsworth Road, Cowplain, perfoming some of Shakespeare’s greatest scenes and sonnets on Thursday, April 23 – known as the playwright’s birthday.

Usually, the Royal Shakespeare Society does something to celebrate the occasion, but with everyone in lockdown, the pair decided to bring the stage to their neighbours instead.

The entire street turned out to watch them perform, socially distancing from one another but still getting a great view of the show.

Bruce and Philipa opened with an extract from Julius Cesar, before performing Romeo and Juliet and Sonnet 116.

Philipa, 61, said: ‘We’ve loved drama all our lives – we even met through theatre when Bruce was on tour.

‘We liked doing it; it was something different to take everyone’s minds off what’s going on in the world for a few minutes.

Before the actual performance, Bruce and Philipa talked a little about Shakespeare’s life and work.

Born in 1654, he is widely-regarded as the greatest writer in the English language, with ground-breaking plays such as Othello and Macbeth.

‘We were a bit apprehensive beforehand because we’ve never done anything quite like this,’ Philipa said.

‘But we rehearsed beforehand and warmed-up, so it all went rather well.

‘It was fun to do and I’m glad everyone else appreciated it.'

As a theatrical household, Shakespeare is very highly-regarded by the couple.

Bruce said: ‘I know more Shakespeare than anything else.’

For their exits, Bruce chased his wife ‘off stage’ pretending to be a bear.

Neighbour Vicky Robinson, 20, says the road has always been a close-knit community.

She said: ‘We have a group chat for the road to make sure everyone is being looked after, and we were all quite close long before we went into lockdown.

‘I’ve lived here my whole life – everyone knows each other and the community spirit is just phenomenal.

‘All the children in the street got their front row seats and it genuinely felt like being in an outdoor theatre – it was brilliant.’

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