David Tennant spoke to ABC News in New York recently regarding the 400 year anniversary of Shakespeare's death.
Speaking about the Bard's work David told them "He’s writing about what it is to be a human being and he’s got a way of getting to the heart of how we feel and how we think that we haven’t really managed to better in many ways,
He also said that Shakespeare may be surprised by how revered his work is today "I imagine he’d be quite surprised simply because there was no precedent for that at the time. It wasn’t an art form that was particularly cherished. He elevated something that was seen as kind of trashy entertainment to an art form, just because he did it so well. These plays still go on and still reach mass audiences. They still fill theaters, otherwise people wouldn’t put them on. So it’s not just an intellectual exercise that we’re keeping something alive for the sake of it. There’s something that lights people up."
He also offered advice for people who may be yet to enjoy Shakespeare saying that they should try watching a play or film adaptation of the stories such as Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
"That’s a fantastic stepping-on point. People can get a bit nervous that Shakespeare’s not for them and that it’s difficult to access. But what someone like Baz Luhrmann did with that movie is he just went, 'No, it’s a story first and foremost. It’s about people, falling in love, sex, battles, pride and shame...all the things that we can all identify with.I would suggest your first experience of Shakespeare should be seeing it in performance rather than reading it in a classroom, because it can be initially a bit intimidating, but if you see it in a performance the meaning kind of shines through, hopefully."
Click here to listen to the interview.
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