Shakespearean show with a twist to visit Swindon

Shakespeare's Fool - a show centred around Will Kempe the Elizabethan jester - will be visiting the Swindon Arts Centre this month.

The period comedy drama that originally premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2021, will be visiting Swindon's Arts Centre on Tuesday, 17 May. 

Shakespeare's Fool follows the story of Will ‘Cavaliero’ Kempe - who was said to be one of the finest performers of the Elizabethan age.

A spokesperson for the show said: "Gentleman player, juggling jester, headmaster of Morris dancers and London’s finest clown, until…he fell out with Will ‘git-face’ Shakespeare. The show is a bittersweet tale, told by an idiot.



"Kempe died alone and poverty stricken, not very far from the original Globe Theatre, of which he was an original shareholder and faded into obscurity; a world away from his former life having supposedly originated some of literature’s best- known characters, including Bottom, Dogberry, and Falstaff."



Audience members will join ‘Cavaliero’ Kempe on the streets of London as he gives his final performance to an audience of a mouse and a marrote, and tells the tale of his life, his rise to stardom and what really happened between him and William Shakespeare.



This one-actor show, stars Robin Leetham, and it is said to have received rave reviews from critics and audience alike.

Tickets can be purchased online at https://swindontheatres.co.uk/Online/tickets-shakespeares-fool-swindon-2022 or by calling the ticket office on 0343 310 0040.

The approximate runtime for the performance is 80 minutes (without interval) and age restriction is set at 12+.