BBC hit comedy podcast You’re Dead To Me, to record live episode at Shakespeare North Playhouse

Fri 20 Oct, 2023

BBC Radio 4’s hit history podcast You’re Dead To Me, will be heading to Shakespeare North Playhouse this month for a very special episode all about the life, work and legacy of William Shakespeare.

This year marks the 400^th anniversary of the First Folio, which is the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s plays, containing 36 out of some 38 Shakespeare plays. Collated and published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare’s death, only 18 of the plays had previously been printed during his lifetime.

In celebration of this, BBC Radio 4 will take to The Cockpit Theatre stage for a special recording of award-winning podcast You’re Dead To Me. Hosted by Greg Jenner (Horrible Histories) and joined by Farah Karim-Cooper, Professor of Shakespeare Studies at King’s College London, and comedian and writer, Richard Herring.

Greg Jenner and his guests will be exploring what we know of the man behind the work in front of a live audience at Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot, Merseyside. The Shakespeare episode will be broadcast on Radio 4 on Saturday 4^th November in the week of the 400th anniversary of the First Folio, and a full hour-long version will be available on BBC Sounds.

Throughout October and November, Shakespeare North Playhouse have a range of productions, exhibitions and events celebrating the legacy of the First Folio’s anniversary. As part of its European Premier Tour, Lauren Gunderson’s ‘The Book of Will’ (a co-production with Bolton Octagon and Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch) will be staged at Shakespeare North Playhouse (19^th Oct -23^rd Nov). This production documents the tale of the First Folio’s creation and the people and friends of Shakespeare that were vital to achieving this. In addition, a copy of the First Folio on loan from The British Library will be exhibited at Shakespeare North Playhouse as part of their Treasures on Tour programme and as part of Shakespeare North’s premier exhibition ‘Shakespeare’s First Folio: 400 Years On’ funded by Knowsley Borough Council. The British Library cares for five of the 235 First Folios that are known to survive worldwide.

There are also several events and workshops on offer at Shakespeare North over the next few weeks including folio talks from associate artist Ben Crystal and Historian Stephen Lloyd. On November 1^st there will be a First Folio Family Portrait Workshop and November 3^rd a Decorative Lettering Family Workshop.

You’re Dead To Me is an established international hit, with listeners all over the world. It debuted in its launch week at Number 1 in the Apple Podcast UK Charts, in 2019, and was named among their Best of 2019. It has since become a BBC Sounds flagship podcast, with over 70 million downloads since its launch.

Series 3 was shortlisted for the Listeners’ Choice Award at the British Podcast Awards 2021. Series 4 was the most successful series yet for audience figures, becoming the most downloaded podcast on BBC Sounds in 2021. It was voted Best Radio Entertainment Programme at the British Comedy Guide Awards 2021, and then again in 2022, and it was nominated for Best Entertainment at the British Podcast Awards 2022.

To book tickets for The Book of Will, Shakespeare First Folio: 400 Years On or any other events at Shakespeare North Playhouse, please head to www.shakespearenorthplayhouse.co.uk.