One-man Shakespeare show brings something different to Warwick festival

Olivier Award nominee and Royal Shakespeare Company actor Gerard Logan will bring the first- ever solo adaptation of The Rape of Lucrece to the stage at the Bridge House Theatre, on Saturday, October 8.

Having first performed the poem at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2008, Gerard, who also teaches performing arts, has successfully taken it on tours around the UK and abroad and run workshops surrounding the poem at schools across England.

And he absolutely loves it.

Speaking to the Courier ahead of his Warwick show, he said: “When I was with the RSC, when I was not on stage, I used to spend an awful lot of time reading Shakespeare’s sonnets, and The Rape of Lucrece hit me between the eyes.

“I couldn’t understand why no one had had this extremely obvious idea of presenting it as a piece of solo theatre.

“I usually only like working with other actors, but I believe it would be incorrect to do this poem in any other way.”

While Gerard admits that the language is demanding for a one-man performance, he said: “As long as you keep that focus on it, you keep the audience engaged. It needs a lot of energy, but all acting does.

“The Rape of Lucrece is not meant to be performed, but Shakespeare was such a man of theatre that even pieces that were just meant to be read are eminently performable.”

He added: “I never get fed up with it.

“It’s too beautiful and too complex.

“I couldn’t get fed up with it any more than a mountaineer could get fed up with Everest.

“I want to be doing this until I die.”

Alongside this labour of love, Gerard continues to work on other projects, and is interested in trying his hand at writing and directing.

He also takes great pleasure out of teaching.

He said: “Passing on Shakespeare to young people is like a magic spell.

“If you approach it with passion and with verve, it will leap across the page.

“I have never come across a group of children I have taught who have not been very excited by Shakespeare.”

Gerard’s performance begins at 8pm. Tickets cost £10 (£8 concessions). Call 776438, or go online.