0:00:05 > 0:00:09Welcome to the world of Epic - the only place where you can
0:00:09 > 0:00:12become a master of everything on the planet.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17So sit back, strap yourself in and get ready to become epic at Shakespeare.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26April 2016 marks 400 years since epic playwright,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29poet and actor William Shakespeare popped his clogs,
0:00:29 > 0:00:33and in the next 15 minutes of epicness we'll show you how to rap,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38act, sound like, dress like, direct, quote and die Shakespeare style.
0:00:38 > 0:00:42And you'll see that you already speak Shakespeare without realising.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Prepare to be bedazzled.
0:00:44 > 0:00:46Told you.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49Our Will is much hipper than you ever might have thought.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51Trust me, there's method in my madness.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56Knock. Knock. Who's there?
0:00:56 > 0:00:58It's Lorianne Tika-Lemba.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01And she knows exactly why the Shakester is hip...
0:01:01 > 0:01:02..hop?
0:01:02 > 0:01:05Hi. I'm Lorianne of the Hip-Hop Shakespeare Company.
0:01:05 > 0:01:10And today I'm going to show you how to rap Shakespeare.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12Nay, but make haste.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14# Two households both alike in dignity,
0:01:14 > 0:01:18# In fair Verona where we lay our scene... #
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Put your hand on your heart.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23You should feel your heart beat in sets of two.
0:01:23 > 0:01:26- Ba-boom. Ba-boom. Ba-boom. - Yes! I'm alive!
0:01:26 > 0:01:31This rhythm is similar to the rhythmic speech that a lot of hip-hop artists use.
0:01:31 > 0:01:33But it's also similar to the rhythm that Shakespeare
0:01:33 > 0:01:36used in a lot of his plays.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41Shakespeare uses the da-dum rhythm five times in each line.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44The posh name for that is iambic pentameter
0:01:44 > 0:01:48Now that makes Shakespeare really easy to rap.
0:01:48 > 0:01:49This I've got to see.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54# Two households both alike in dignity
0:01:54 > 0:01:56# In fair Verona where we lay our scene... #
0:01:56 > 0:02:00First, pick a play. It might be one you're doing at school.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03I've picked Romeo And Juliet as it's one of my favourites.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05Next you need to pick a section of the play.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07It needs to be written in verse.
0:02:07 > 0:02:13You can tell it's written in verse when each line starts with a capital letter, like this.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14Ah. I didn't know that.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16# From ancient grudge break to new mutiny
0:02:16 > 0:02:19# Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. #
0:02:19 > 0:02:22Then you need to find a hip-hop beat or create your own.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25This is the one I'm going to be using.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30# From forth the fatal loins of these two foes
0:02:30 > 0:02:32# A pair of star-crossed lovers take their lives... #
0:02:32 > 0:02:35Finally, all you need to do is make your words
0:02:35 > 0:02:36fit into the hip-hop beat.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40But don't worry. Practice makes perfect.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42# Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
0:02:42 > 0:02:44# Doth with their death bury their parents' strife. #
0:02:44 > 0:02:47Nice one, Lorianne. And now a recap.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50First, pick a play.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Next, pick a section that's in verse.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55Find a hip-hop beat.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58And finally, put the words to the beat.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00And that's how you rap Shakespeare.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Cheers, Loz.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05Great start. "But how about acting tips?" I hear you cry.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08Well, all of a sudden we've got just the lady.
0:03:11 > 0:03:12Meet Maxine.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16She's famous from the telly, as well as being a top theatre actor.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20And, as luck would have it, she's epic at Shakespeare.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Hi. I'm Maxine Peake.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25And I'm going to show you how to act like a Shakespearean actor.
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Great! But make short shrift.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Tip one - do a character profile.
0:03:31 > 0:03:33A character profile is when you find out
0:03:33 > 0:03:37everything you can from the play about who your character is.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40I've started on the board one about Hamlet.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42I played Hamlet a couple of years ago now, and this is
0:03:42 > 0:03:46some of the information that I gleaned from my initial reading.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47Tip two.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Now you have to decide how you're going to say the line.
0:03:51 > 0:03:53Now I use a technique called actioning,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56which put the emotion behind the line.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59On my script here I've got things like "to challenge"
0:03:59 > 0:04:03and "to shame" and "to punish". So in this line, "Seems, Madam?
0:04:03 > 0:04:05"Nay, it is. I know not seems."
0:04:05 > 0:04:09The first way I'm going to do it is accusing, challenging.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13"Seems, Madam? Nay, it is. I know not seems."
0:04:13 > 0:04:15Scary.
0:04:15 > 0:04:19Or I could just explain to Gertrude my situation.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24"Seems Madam? Nay, it is. I know not seems."
0:04:24 > 0:04:25Ah. Nicer.
0:04:25 > 0:04:28So those are two ways, but there are many other ways.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32And that's down to your Hamlet and how you decide to play it.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Tip three is using your whole body to tell the story.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41So, I've taken a line from when Hamlet meets the players.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44The players are his friends and he's really pleased to see them at court.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47Now, there's one way I could do it.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51"Welcome Masters, welcome all. I'm glad to see thee well."
0:04:51 > 0:04:52To me, that doesn't tell me
0:04:52 > 0:04:56that someone's happy to see these friends.
0:04:56 > 0:04:58A way of doing it is...
0:04:58 > 0:05:02"Welcome Masters, welcome all. I'm glad to see thee well."
0:05:02 > 0:05:06So it's about relaxing and being in touch with your body.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09And using your whole body to tell the story.
0:05:09 > 0:05:11Quick recap then.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15First, do a character profile.
0:05:15 > 0:05:21Then decide how you want to say your lines. This is called actioning.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25And finally, use your whole body to deliver the lines.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27That's the long and short of it.
0:05:27 > 0:05:30And that's how you act like a Shakespearean actor.
0:05:30 > 0:05:31Thanks, Max.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35Shakespeare created more than 1,200 amazing characters.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38But he had a habit of killing them off, as you do.
0:05:38 > 0:05:40However, give the Devil his due,
0:05:40 > 0:05:43he certainly came up with some creative ways to get rid of them.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47Here's the Epic top 10 Death Countdown.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49Welcome to Ye Olde Chart -
0:05:49 > 0:05:51counting down the Top 10 Shakespearean Deaths.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Who's going to be at number 1 this week?
0:05:54 > 0:05:57At 10, it's a non-mover for Antony And Cleopatra.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02Cleopatra is bitten by an asp. Oh, clumsy Cleo.
0:06:02 > 0:06:06In at 9, it's a new entry for Richard III.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Evil King Rich goes into battle and dies because he doesn't have a horse.
0:06:10 > 0:06:11"My kingdom for a horse?"
0:06:11 > 0:06:13Shame no-one took up that offer.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16At 8 it's down 3 for King John.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21Ill-fated Arthur, the rightful heir to the throne, falls off a wall and doesn't survive.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23Ouch!
0:06:23 > 0:06:26Climbing 3 places to 7, it's King Lear.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Poor old King Lear dies of heartbreak after witnessing
0:06:29 > 0:06:33the cruel death of his beloved daughter Cordelia.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35At 6, it's Richard III - again.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37King Richard's brother, the Duke of Clarence,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41meets his murderous end - drowned in a barrel of Malmsey wine.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44At 5 it's another new entry. It's Hamlet.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47King Hamlet's dastardly Uncle Claudius is stabbed with
0:06:47 > 0:06:52a poisoned blade and made to swallow a poison drink too, just to be sure.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56Last week's number 1 falls to this week's 4 for The Winter's Tale.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00In one of Shakespeare's most famous deaths ever, Antigonus exits,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03pursued by a bear that then proceeds to eat him.
0:07:03 > 0:07:04No thanks.
0:07:04 > 0:07:07At 3 - it's up 6 places for Julius Caesar.
0:07:07 > 0:07:11Brutus's Roman socialite wife Portia dies when she swallows hot coals.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Don't try this at home, folks!
0:07:13 > 0:07:16This week's 2 is a non-mover for Romeo And Juliet,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18and it's a double death.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Romeo poisons himself, thinking Juliet is dead, but she's not.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25She then stabs herself when she sees that Romeo is dead.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27Oh dear, communication breakdown.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30And taking the top spot is Titus Andronicus,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33and two of the most gruesome deaths ever.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36Royal sons Chiron and Demetrius are killed, drained of blood,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39minced up and put in a meat pie.
0:07:39 > 0:07:40Eewwww. Ketchup, anyone?
0:07:40 > 0:07:43So there you have it - all dead as a doornail.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47And that's how you die like a Shakespearean character.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Back in Big Will's day, women weren't allowed to act.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Boys played female characters, so their outfits were really important.
0:07:54 > 0:07:59And four centuries on, how a character looks is still just as important as their lines.
0:08:01 > 0:08:02Meet Robin.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07What he doesn't know about Shakespearean outfits ain't worth knowing.
0:08:07 > 0:08:08Nice helmet, fella.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12Hi, I'm Robin Belfield and I work for the Royal Shakespeare Company.
0:08:12 > 0:08:15And I'm going to show you how to dress like a Shakespearean character.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Lovely. It's high time... we got on with this.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22Tip one - decide how you want your character to look.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26What's great about Shakespeare's plays is they work in any period of time.
0:08:26 > 0:08:28So you can decide whether you want your character to
0:08:28 > 0:08:32be from the past, the present or even the future.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36Take the character Juliet from Romeo And Juliet.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39You could wear a more traditional costume.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42Or perhaps something a little later.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45- Or really anything you have in your wardrobe.- Oh. I've got one of those.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Tip two. Give your character a personal accessory.
0:08:49 > 0:08:52Props really help an audience understand what a character is doing.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55For example, if you're playing a soldier in King Henry V's army,
0:08:55 > 0:08:58you might use an umbrella as a sword.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00Ah, I've got one of those too.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02And finally, tip three.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05- There are no rules. - Even better.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07If you're a boy playing a girl, you don't have to wear a dress.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11If you're a girl playing a boy, you can wear a dress.
0:09:11 > 0:09:12Anyone can wear anything.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Just take the clues from the text, use your imagination
0:09:16 > 0:09:18and be as creative as you like.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Simples. Here's the recap.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Pick a distinctive look.
0:09:23 > 0:09:25Choose a personal accessory.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29And finally, actually do whatever you like.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32And that's how you dress like a Shakespearean character.
0:09:32 > 0:09:33Thanks, Robbo.
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Big Will's writing is regarded as the finest in the English language,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39such a spotless reputation.
0:09:39 > 0:09:40Show-off.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43These most English of words have actually been
0:09:43 > 0:09:45translated into 75 languages.
0:09:45 > 0:09:47Check these famous phrases out.
0:10:21 > 0:10:22Cheers, guys.
0:10:22 > 0:10:24That was all Greek to me.
0:10:24 > 0:10:25Uh, I know.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Well, we're making great progress.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29I'd say you're ready to enter a brave new world
0:10:29 > 0:10:32and put on a play of your own. Don't you?
0:10:34 > 0:10:36Meet top theatre director, Bill.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40He knows exactly how to put on a Shakespeare play. Handy that.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42And... Action!
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Hello. I'm Bill Buckhurst, and I'm a director here ate Shakespeare's Globe.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53And I'm going to show you how to put on a Shakespeare play.
0:10:53 > 0:10:54Great. Go for it.
0:10:54 > 0:10:55You don't have to do your Shakespeare
0:10:55 > 0:10:58play in a space as big as Shakespeare's Globe.
0:10:58 > 0:10:59It could be anywhere.
0:10:59 > 0:11:04But the important thing you need to do is to mark out the space.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07You've got audience on this side, audience at the front,
0:11:07 > 0:11:08and audience to the side.
0:11:08 > 0:11:10There's your mark-up.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13For I must now to Oberon.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Easy, fella. Where's he gone?
0:11:15 > 0:11:19My next tip is to think about what you're going to perform.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Shakespeare's plays can be quite long.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23But you don't have to do the whole thing.
0:11:23 > 0:11:26Just choose one section from the play.
0:11:26 > 0:11:27Othello...!
0:11:27 > 0:11:30So my third and final tip is to think
0:11:30 > 0:11:35about the props you're going to use to bring your performance alive.
0:11:35 > 0:11:36You don't need much.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38I did a production of Othello last year
0:11:38 > 0:11:43and all we had was some boxes to use to tell the story.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45You could take boxes and put them together.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48That's beginning to look a bit like a table perhaps.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51And then from another box you could grab a piece of material
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and put that on top like this.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56And as if by magic,
0:11:56 > 0:11:59you've got yourself a table with a tablecloth on it.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03Here's the reprise, as they say in theatre land.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06Mark out your stage space.
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Next, choose a section of a play to perform.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11Edit it if you want.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14And finally, think about some simple props.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17- And that's how you put on a Shakespeare play at home. - Thanks, Billy-boy.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22Now you can rap, act, die like, dress like, quote and stage Shakespeare.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26It's time to deliver your final bit of performance-crowning
0:12:26 > 0:12:29epicness - how to sound just like the man himself.
0:12:29 > 0:12:33Meet Ben. He's a top bloke with a lovely voice.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37And he knows how Big Will would have sounded back in the day.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42Hi. I'm Ben Crystal and I'm going to show you how to sound like Shakespeare.
0:12:42 > 0:12:43Take it away, Ben.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47I'm here at the Rose Playhouse in London - the site of the first
0:12:47 > 0:12:50purpose-built theatre to stage Shakespeare's plays.
0:12:50 > 0:12:54- We know Shakespeare himself performed here.- Wow.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57But the question is - what did he sound like?
0:12:57 > 0:13:01Shakespeare is often performed in an ultra-posh accent called
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Received Pronunciation, which sounds a lot like this...
0:13:04 > 0:13:06- POSH:- How now, brown cow.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09But RP as it's known was only invented 200 years ago,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13which was 200 years after Shakespeare died.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16So Shakespeare couldn't have spoken in RP.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20In fact he spoke a little bit more like this...
0:13:20 > 0:13:23- MIDLANDS ACCENT:- Oh, for a muse of fire.- Brummie?
0:13:23 > 0:13:27- Or...- WEST COUNTRY ACCENT: - Oh for a muse of fire.- Cornish?
0:13:27 > 0:13:29Or even...
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- NORTHERN ACCENT: - Oh for a muse of fire.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Yorkshire? Come on. Make up your mind, Ben.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36Let me make it clearer.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39This is how Shakespeare would have sounded.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41- MIXED ACCENT:- Oh for a muse of fire,
0:13:41 > 0:13:46that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.
0:13:46 > 0:13:47Ah. Regional mix.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50It's called Original Pronunciation.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54That means that words that don't rhyme now did rhyme back then.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58For example, stars and wars in Received Pronunciation
0:13:58 > 0:14:03would have been pronounced "stahrs" and "wahrs" in Original Pronunciation.
0:14:03 > 0:14:07Tip one. Sound like a pirate. Use your R's.
0:14:07 > 0:14:10Aaahrrrrrrrr. Waaaahrrrr.
0:14:10 > 0:14:15Tip two. Use the short A's of OP - bath, dance and father.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Not RP - baaath, daaance and faaather.
0:14:18 > 0:14:19And tip number three.
0:14:19 > 0:14:23Say it all fast, or trippingly as Shakespeare would have said.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28Not "Ooooh it iiis my Laaady," but "Oh. Tis my Lady."
0:14:28 > 0:14:30Fair play.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33Who knew Shakespeare sounded like that?
0:14:33 > 0:14:36And that's how you sound like Shahkspeerr.
0:14:36 > 0:14:40Whoa, hang on a minute. Shahkspeerr? That's new.
0:14:40 > 0:14:44Well that brings us to the end of this Shakespearean epicness.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47What's done is done. And all's well that ends well.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Now you know how to do so much more than you did 15 minutes ago.
0:14:51 > 0:14:53So go forth, break the ice.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57And be epic at Shakespeare!