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00:00Rob and I are back.
00:06It looks a bit like you're my guide.
00:09Throwing ourselves into the biggest challenges.
00:12Check, check, check.
00:14With the help of the world's best.
00:17I used to do that in the office.
00:20Together, we're going on a journey of discovery.
00:23No, no, no.
00:25To find out what we like.
00:27Oh, wow, Rob, that's amazing.
00:29And what we don't.
00:31This feels like it's all gonna come out.
00:33This week, we're going Elizabethan and taking on Shakespeare.
00:37There's a lot to take in.
00:38As we prepare to perform Romeo and Juliet.
00:41A plague of both your houses.
00:43With the help of some of our finest actors.
00:45Before putting it all on the line
00:47at the world-famous Globe Theatre in London.
00:50Come sir, your passado.
00:59So, Rob.
01:00Yes.
01:01We have been invited to perform Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre.
01:11It's highly prestigious, according to my wife, the drama teacher.
01:14About time and all.
01:15That's what I said.
01:16Yeah.
01:17Does the telegram man be running late, one thinks?
01:21For I have been waiting for this moment upon a time.
01:25It's the kind of thing, innit?
01:26Yeah.
01:27The irony of two jesters driving through South London,
01:31setting up an episode of a Sky presentation.
01:34And the question the public asks themselves,
01:37are the two jesters possible to once again scratch the gooch of mirth
01:42as they descend into one other episode
01:45of the famous Robin Romesh versus Shakespeare?
01:49Piece of piss, Shakespeare, innit?
01:51Oh, my God.
01:52He's just done about 12 sonnets, eh?
01:57I don't know any Shakespeare.
01:58I've heard of Macbeth, Hamlet, Midsummer's Night's Dream.
02:02Yeah.
02:03Othello.
02:04Let's see Hamlet.
02:05I'm going to read out some.
02:07You tell me if you've heard of them, OK?
02:08Romeo and Juliet.
02:10Yeah.
02:11King Lear.
02:12No.
02:13The Tempest.
02:14No.
02:15Julius Caesar.
02:16That's a bloke, innit?
02:17Yeah, but it's based on his life.
02:18No, I've seen Gladiator, but that's separate.
02:20That is a different story, yeah.
02:22Taming of the Shrew.
02:23No, what's that?
02:24What's a shrew?
02:25A little mouse thing, innit?
02:26Yeah.
02:27As you like it.
02:28What the fuck's that about?
02:29It's sort of like the original...
02:30Springwatch special.
02:31It's the original version of Ratatouille.
02:33Right.
02:37Are you a fan of Shakespeare?
02:38No.
02:39OK.
02:40OK, this is what I think of Shakespeare,
02:42and I'm going to get a little bit annihilated for this.
02:44Go on.
02:45I think it's overrated.
02:46Yep.
02:47And we're constantly being told it's brilliant
02:49without any real evidence of that.
02:51What is brilliant about it?
02:52Nobody can answer that question.
02:53Yeah, but...
02:54Why do we all have to study Shakespeare?
02:56Like, what is this?
02:58Are you all right?
02:59No, I just think it's a bit...
03:00It's just a bit annoying.
03:01Really?
03:02I've never known you to be so passionate about something.
03:04I just think it just is too much.
03:07My problem with it is I struggled to learn to read at school,
03:10and then once I got an handle on it,
03:12they gave me Shakespeare was all written wrong.
03:14Right.
03:15I just think we need someone that knows what's going on
03:18and can explain why it's good.
03:19Yeah.
03:20Because you get good actors that do it,
03:21and they're normal people, and they must like it.
03:23Yeah.
03:24OK.
03:25Deal?
03:26Deal.
03:30So to start our Shakespearean journey,
03:32we were heading to the Globe,
03:34the legendary open-air theatre in the heart of London,
03:36dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare.
03:39It's a modern-day recreation of the very place
03:41where Shakespeare staged his plays
03:43and offers a proper old-school Elizabethan experience.
03:48There you go.
03:49Oh, wow.
03:52No, isn't it? It's amazing, isn't it?
03:53Treading the boards.
03:55Yeah, very good.
03:57The theatre's first artistic director
03:59was the Oscar-winning actor, Sir Mark Ryland.
04:01And now it's in the hands of Olivier Award-winning Michelle Terry,
04:05who today would be deciding which scene
04:07Rom and I would be performing.
04:09How much is it delivered out here?
04:11Oh, give it some on the edge.
04:13He loves it, go on.
04:15How dare you!
04:18What do you think?
04:19That was excellent.
04:20Oh, hello!
04:21It's really good.
04:22You're basically ready.
04:23Michelle, Rob, lovely to meet you.
04:24Nice to meet you.
04:25Hello, Rob. How's it going? You all right?
04:26Very good. How are you?
04:27Yeah.
04:28It's amazing. I've never been here before.
04:29Welcome.
04:30So, you're going to perform here.
04:32You're going to do a scene from one of the plays.
04:34Okay.
04:35Yeah.
04:36You're going to be coming on after a full house performance,
04:39so 1,600 people will have just watched a play,
04:42and then you're the encore.
04:44But normally the encore is they cheer for the people
04:46they've just seen to see more of it.
04:48Oh, they'll do that.
04:49Yeah.
04:50Oh, they'll do that.
04:51Extra?
04:52Yeah.
04:53A bonus.
04:54But what you don't do is reward that enthusiasm
04:55by bringing on something shit.
04:57So, you're going to go and do some workshops
05:00on Shakespeare.
05:01Okay.
05:02One on using your voice in this space
05:03without amplification, and one on combat,
05:06stage combat, a bit of fighting.
05:08And you're also going to go get into a bit of costume,
05:10Elizabethan costume, because on the night
05:12that's what you'll be wearing, so you need to get used to it.
05:14Okay.
05:15Brilliant.
05:16Thanks, Michelle.
05:17Have fun.
05:18See you later.
05:20Today's workshops are all about helping Michelle decide
05:23which scene would be right for us.
05:25They were taking place on the Globe's sister stage,
05:27the candle-lit Sam Wanamaker Playhouse,
05:30modelled on the intimate indoor theatres
05:32of Elizabethan London.
05:35And Rom and I were already looking right at home.
05:42What do you think?
05:43It's a lot to take in.
05:46Um, I feel like I'm in like a Shakespearean basic instinct.
05:49You know, things are riding up so high.
05:51Sorry.
05:52It's wild.
05:53Sorry.
05:54It's like...
05:55You don't, you forget how stuff fit right.
05:57At least you can see through them.
05:58Yeah, that's like lexicon mode.
05:59It's like, ah.
06:00Sorry.
06:01Dost wanna give me one.
06:02I don't know how to sit.
06:04Yeah.
06:05Look, if you don't mind me saying,
06:06you are now at the most attractive I've ever known you.
06:09Right?
06:10Because I walked up here expecting to find it funny.
06:13And I did find it funny because you were like Shakespeare and Sharon Stone.
06:16Yeah.
06:17But apart from that, you actually look, you suit it.
06:20Well, the thing is with me, Rob, even if I do look more attractive, I'll always sit like a bit of a slag.
06:25Hmm.
06:26And that's me.
06:27You're your mother's son.
06:28You're...
06:29You're...
06:30You're...
06:31Hi, guys.
06:35Oh, hello.
06:36Hiya.
06:37Hello.
06:38Oh, Rob, nice to meet you.
06:39I'm Liz.
06:40I'm a Globe voice coach.
06:41Nice to meet you too.
06:42So, we're gonna be starting with a vocal workshop to get you on voice for the big Globe stage.
06:47Okay.
06:48Would you like to make your way?
06:49Yes, I'd love to.
06:50Yeah.
06:51Just like in Shakespeare's time, any actor performing at the Globe has to rely solely on the power of their voice to reach the audience.
07:00If you take a big breath into these ribs, and then rise up towards the ceiling and breathe out on a...
07:05Oh, fucking hell.
07:09So, Liz was putting us through a series of vocal exercises designed to help us project properly across the vast theatre space.
07:17So, we're powering from your belly.
07:20If you power from your belly, you can do eight shows a week.
07:22Right.
07:23Which equates to about 24 hours in a week.
07:25Okay.
07:26Give me a...
07:29Nice logo.
07:30Okay.
07:33Give me a...
07:34Open up your mouth a little bit more for that one.
07:37How about a...
07:39James Brown would be turning in his grave.
07:43Gorgeous.
07:46Fabulous.
07:47Ramos, do you want to give it a go?
07:48What am I doing?
07:49A ha.
07:50Ha.
07:51And a ho.
07:52Ha.
07:53And a he.
07:54Good girl.
07:55Goddamn.
07:56Straight back.
07:57Well done.
07:58Good stuff.
07:59Genuinely, I'm not just saying this.
08:00I feel like I can speak better than I ever have been able to in my entire life.
08:04So, we're going to say the words no, no, no.
08:07No, no, no.
08:08No, no, no.
08:10Beautiful support.
08:11Just do an impression of Lou.
08:12Excellent.
08:13I feel so verbally dexterous.
08:17Honestly, I feel like I could say anything.
08:20No, no, no.
08:21No, no.
08:22Fantastic vocal production.
08:23Lovely.
08:24Lovely.
08:25Nice long neck.
08:26No.
08:27Very good.
08:28No.
08:29No.
08:30No to another series.
08:31No.
08:32He does need to learn that word.
08:34No more Judge Romesh.
08:36Get the gourd out.
08:38No.
08:39It felt empowering.
08:40No.
08:41I feel like it's something I should say more in everyday life.
08:45Like, Romesh, do you think for the rehearsals and the vocal warm-ups you should be in costume?
08:49No.
08:50No.
08:51No.
08:52We were now loose-lipped and warmed up and ready to get to grips with the language.
08:57Yea, all which it inherits shall dissolve.
09:00And I was starting to get into it.
09:02We're all spirits and are melted into air.
09:06Into thin air.
09:08It's quite yappy there, isn't it?
09:09It's quite shouty.
09:10Yea.
09:11But it's a nice volume.
09:12I enjoyed the volume.
09:13Personally, I thought I nailed it.
09:14Yea.
09:15We always do.
09:17But then, Michelle had arranged for us to crank things up a gear with some Elizabethan action.
09:30Oh, I don't like it.
09:31Oh, my God.
09:32Really don't want to do that sword fighting.
09:34Do you know what I mean?
09:35We could take an eye out.
09:36And we ain't got a lot to play with.
09:37There's three between us.
09:40Hello, both.
09:41Amazing.
09:42This is Sam.
09:43Hello.
09:44We're going to do some combat stuff today.
09:45Mainly, we're going to be focusing on rapier.
09:47Because as you are beautifully dressed, it was the main weapon in Shakespearean times.
09:52So, this was actually happening when Shakespeare was alive?
09:54Yeah.
09:55He is fucking well old.
09:56When was this?
09:57This is mental.
09:581600s.
09:591600s?
10:00When was that?
10:01Long time ago.
10:02When was that?
10:03You're asking when a tiger was.
10:04I get it.
10:05I can't get me edge.
10:06Should we let you two fight?
10:07Was there trains?
10:08Was there trains?
10:09Trains?
10:10Yeah.
10:11How old are they?
10:12I've just got to book a train to my rapier fight.
10:14Bendy the legs.
10:15Front foot first.
10:16Before we were allowed to duel it out, Rom and I had to master the footwork.
10:24Beautiful.
10:25Yeah.
10:26And it didn't take long to see which one of us had the killer instinct.
10:31And back.
10:32Why are you going so quickly and far?
10:34Oh, do you want me to fight slowly?
10:37Oh, I'd kill him immediately.
10:40Beautiful.
10:41And then backwards.
10:42Do you done?
10:43Do you done?
10:44Do you done?
10:45Yeah, lovely.
10:46It's like a ferry, that.
10:47What do you mean?
10:48Slow.
10:49Rom is just quite a slow mover with the sword work.
10:51I think if it was a vehicle, there'd be a beep as he returns from the duel.
10:55Beep.
10:56Beep.
10:57Beep.
10:58Beep.
10:59Beep.
11:00And not being fast on my feet was going to be a problem with my sparring partner.
11:04And Rob, you go for the chest first.
11:06Oh, Jesus.
11:07And we're going to block.
11:08That's it.
11:09And then go down for the hips.
11:10And then...
11:11Whoa.
11:12Wait for the fucking queue.
11:13Yeah, thanks.
11:14Why are you further on than Sam is?
11:17Jesus.
11:18I thought I was actually in a row then.
11:21Maisie was saying, can you follow me step by step?
11:24We'd finish the fight before she got into the second step.
11:27Because Rob just decided it's go time.
11:29Going backwards.
11:30Literally the same thing.
11:31I don't retreat, mate.
11:32I'm a forward fighter.
11:33You're going to retreat.
11:34I'll cut the ring off.
11:35Get him in the cold.
11:36I'll fucking walk off.
11:37Luckily, I had the wherewithal to actually properly defend myself.
11:40Otherwise, you'd be fucking...
11:41I'd be talking to you with a rapier out my chest.
11:46By some miracle, I'd made it through training without a scratch.
11:49And now it was finally time to find out what we'd be performing.
11:52Michelle had spoken to our coaches, and together, they'd picked a scene for us.
11:57We had a really good chat about the scene that you're going to do.
12:00Okay.
12:01What we've got is a scene from the most famous play in the canon, Romeo and Juliet.
12:05Mmm.
12:06So you're going to do a friendship scene.
12:08Oh.
12:09Not the one at the end where I kiss him when he's dead.
12:12No, not that one.
12:13Well, you could if you wanted to put it in.
12:14What?
12:15But...
12:16Don't he kiss...
12:17He kisses her when she's dead.
12:18Yeah, but who describes that as a friendship scene?
12:22Why would that be called a friendship scene?
12:24Well, I don't know.
12:25I'll give you a little kiss.
12:26If you were dead, I'd give you a little kiss.
12:27Fine, but you wouldn't describe it as a friendship scene.
12:28If you were dead now, I'd give you a little kiss in your forehead.
12:31And then ring my agent and then the ambulance.
12:34You're going to do the other friendship scene without the kissing.
12:41Right.
12:42There's quite a lot of fights in it.
12:43A fight?
12:44Oh, okay.
12:45We're fighting in it.
12:46Yeah.
12:47The scene Michelle had chosen was the pivotal fight of the play.
12:50In which Romeo's best friend, Mercutio, was killed.
12:53It was classic Shakespearean tragedy.
12:56And somehow, Michelle expected us to pull off one of the most dramatic scenes in history.
13:01With me playing Mercutio and Rob as Romeo.
13:04I was hurt under your arm.
13:05I thought all for the best.
13:07And the toughest part was, we only had a week before we had to perform it.
13:12So basically, I think between now and when you do it,
13:15like if you can just learn the lines and say the lines in the right order,
13:18that's successful.
13:19Okay, great.
13:20Thanks so much.
13:21Try our best.
13:22Yeah, thank you.
13:23We'll see you.
13:24We might come back and do it.
13:25Bye-bye.
13:26Bye-bye.
13:27All the best.
13:28They made worms meat of me.
13:29We're fucked.
13:30Yeah.
13:36In just a week's time, Rob and I will be taking on one of the most dramatic scenes
13:40in all of history, when we perform Shakespeare in the iconic Globe Theatre.
13:45Help me into some house, Benvolio.
13:47I shall faint.
13:48I've played with both your houses.
13:49They've made worms meat of me.
13:51And we were completely out of our depth.
13:54And then go down for the hips.
13:55And then...
13:56Whoa!
13:57Wait for the fucking cue.
13:58So, to help us get ready, our mentor, Michelle Terry, had invited us back to watch Romeo
14:03and Juliet performed by the pros.
14:06But first, I wanted to see if Rob had any experience treading the boards.
14:11I dressed up as Emma Bunton once for a school play when we were doing the Spice Girls.
14:16Well, that was a play.
14:18Mmm, I don't know.
14:19It was like an assembly.
14:20Not really a play.
14:21On stage, weren't you?
14:22Yeah, but it was more like, oh, now we've got the Spice Girls performing.
14:24We just danced through it.
14:25Okay.
14:26Well, now we get into the nub of the fact that I don't think you know what a play is.
14:29I've not been in a play.
14:30Right.
14:31That's the correct answer to that question.
14:33That's the correct answer to that question.
14:35That's the correct answer to that question.
14:36I don't think I've even seen one.
14:37No.
14:38I don't think you have either.
14:39Romeo and Juliet, Leonardo DiCaprio.
14:40Yeah.
14:41That's a film.
14:42Right, but it's Shakespeare.
14:43Yeah.
14:44Pantomime.
14:45That's a play?
14:46I've seen a play.
14:47That's a play.
14:48Okay.
14:49I mean, it is the, you know, what I would say is if you didn't know the person.
14:53Yeah.
14:54Have you been to see any plays?
14:55Yeah.
14:56And you go, oh, you know, I went to see Dick Whittington at the hall.
14:59Yeah.
15:00I would say keep that to yourself.
15:05Each year, the Globe puts on hundreds of performances of Shakespeare's plays.
15:09And none are more famous than Romeo and Juliet.
15:12Tonight's performance was our chance to get a handle on the play and see the scene we'd be performing in this unique venue.
15:19I've geeked in theatres all over the world, as you have. I've never seen one like this.
15:22No.
15:23It feels like you're, it feels like you've been transported back in time.
15:26But what Michelle had failed to mention was exactly what time period we'd be transported back to.
15:37I kind of felt a little bit ignorant because I didn't realise that Romeo and Juliet was a Western.
15:41It turned out the Globe was putting on a Wild West-themed interpretation of Shakespeare's classic.
15:50They're all coming in through saloon doors and then they're talking like a Shakespeare play, but it's a Western.
15:55It's about seven different time periods you're experiencing in one performance.
16:01I'm half expecting a DeLorean to come out.
16:04Emmett Brown gets out.
16:06Marty!
16:07And just as we got used to the setting, next, we were hit with the language.
16:12With purple fountains issuing from your veins.
16:16What's the purple fountain?
16:18By me.
16:19Oh, jeez.
16:20I don't know what's going on in there.
16:22It's like having fondue.
16:24You ever had fondue?
16:25I don't know what's going on with that, but it's fun.
16:28But the fun stopped the moment our scene started.
16:32And for the very first time, Rom and I could see just how much trouble we were really in.
16:45The more I'm exposed to what we're doing, the less I think it's a good idea.
16:50Why the devil came in between us?
16:52I think people are going to throw their shit at us.
16:55Thankfully, we wouldn't be dressing up as cowboys when we performed.
17:01And although it had been useful watching the pros in action,
17:04it was still a personal hurdle we needed to get past.
17:07Are you a fan of Shakespeare?
17:09Er, no.
17:10Okay.
17:11We're constantly being told it's brilliant.
17:12What is brilliant about it? Nobody can answer that question.
17:17We needed someone to explain to us why it was so good.
17:20So the next day we were off to meet a Shakespeare expert.
17:23Oscar-nominated film star Jessie Buckley.
17:27Jessie's acting career kicked off by studying the Bard.
17:30And with multiple adaptations of his work under her belt,
17:33including appearances at the Globe,
17:35she was the perfect person to help us get our heads around Shakespeare.
17:40We need your help, Jessie. We're struggling.
17:42How come?
17:43It's just that whole thing of, like, being forced to learn it at school.
17:46Yeah.
17:47And then it's lots of people telling you it's really good.
17:49Yeah.
17:50Without, for me, feeling like there's any concrete evidence.
17:52Knowing what the hell's going on.
17:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:54I was like, I felt like that in school too.
17:56It was kind of just words that went way past me.
18:00And then when I moved over to London, I did a three-week Shakespeare course.
18:04And I fell in love with it.
18:08I mean, I still don't fully understand it.
18:11That's good.
18:13If I'm being completely honest.
18:15But as you work on it, you get to know it.
18:17It's like he's condensed the most epic feelings of being a human into, like, his text.
18:25All the lines in it, right, obviously, it's old English.
18:28But even for that time, was Shakespeare a little bit flamboyant with it?
18:33Florid.
18:34Even back then, they'd go, calm down, mate.
18:36Yeah.
18:37He invented so many words.
18:38At the time, I'm asking...
18:39I bet they didn't know what was going on either.
18:41That's what I'm asking, yeah.
18:42Definitely.
18:43He's not listening to an E40 record, you know?
18:45He just makes up, you know...
18:46Who's E40?
18:47The rapper.
18:48Does he know about E45?
18:49Most of his stuff, you can't understand what he's saying.
18:51Right.
18:52Because he makes up slang, so I think...
18:53But what does it make you feel like something from it?
18:56Well, you feel like you need to try and find out what it means.
19:00There you go.
19:01Oh, wow.
19:02He's cracked the code.
19:03He cracked it.
19:04I won't bet it's enlightenment.
19:05That's the widest eye that's been open for a while.
19:09Keep it going.
19:10I might stay that way.
19:11Keep it going.
19:12Give me some other stuff.
19:13Give me some more epiphanies.
19:16Things seemed like they were starting to click for Rom,
19:19but I had my own problem I needed Jessie's help with.
19:22Well, we've got to do a performance at the Globe.
19:25Are you?
19:26And I've got to be really sad.
19:27What, are you doing an actual play?
19:28Yes.
19:29There.
19:30OK, I'll be honest with you, the tone's not that encouraging.
19:32We do the scene where I am sad because Mercutio, I'm playing Romeo,
19:37Mercutio dies, right?
19:38Yeah.
19:39I'm sad.
19:40Yes.
19:41The problem is, Rob has to deliver a line with emotion
19:43that he doesn't fully understand what the line means.
19:45What is the line?
19:46No.
19:47So, basically, I say...
19:49Look him in the eyes and imagine your best friend...
19:52Yeah.
19:53...has died.
19:54I feel like I'm at Madame Tussauds.
20:00I wish they'd put me at Madame Tussauds.
20:04Anyway, go on.
20:06OK.
20:07This day's black fate, on more days doth depend,
20:12but this begins the woes others must end.
20:15OK, so...
20:16And what do you think that means?
20:18It's like, it's a bad day.
20:20Um...
20:21Very bad.
20:22Yeah, it's gonna get worse.
20:24Yeah, that's basically it.
20:25Yeah.
20:26You have to work at figuring out what it means to you.
20:28Yeah.
20:29What you're saying is you don't have to know exactly
20:31what is meant by every one of those words,
20:34but you know what the sentiment of that line is,
20:36so you can deliver it with that intent, right?
20:39That's exactly what it is.
20:41Yeah.
20:42If we feel like it's all going wrong on the night,
20:44what would your advice be if your head starts to go
20:46in that negative way?
20:47Um, what I would probably think of doing
20:49is just, like, show people, you know,
20:51flash or something, but that's not what you should do.
20:54Sorry, your tip, if it's going badly
20:57and we get a negative in the voice,
20:58is to get our dicks out.
21:00That's what my bad part of my brain wants to do.
21:03OK, right, OK.
21:04But don't say yourself, don't do that.
21:05Don't do that.
21:06Oh, sorry.
21:07Right, OK.
21:08They're like, there's no right or wrong.
21:09Just, like, go and do it, and I bet you'll be brilliant.
21:12Fake it till you make it.
21:13Exactly.
21:14I think you're going to be great.
21:15You're going to take the globe by storm.
21:22Rob and I are only days away from performing
21:25Romeo and Juliet at the globe.
21:27And whilst I was starting to understand
21:29what made Shakespeare great...
21:31Do you feel like something from it?
21:33Well, you feel like you need to try and find out what it means.
21:35There you go.
21:36Rob was still having trouble accessing his emotions.
21:39What do you think that means?
21:41It's a bad day.
21:44Very bad.
21:47Rob and I have separate challenges
21:49that we have to master for our performance.
21:51Mine is to die convincingly.
21:55But I'm not as worried about myself as I am worried about Rob.
21:59The problem that Rob has got is Rob has to connect to his feelings.
22:02Rob has not done that for a long time.
22:04So the fear is that he might have a breakdown
22:08when he sort of finally reconnects.
22:10It's like, you know, when they plug the thing
22:11in the back of Neo's head in the Matrix
22:13and then upload emotion and empathy.
22:16He might just shit himself and start crying.
22:19Which is bad for him and Lou and his children,
22:22but great for the show.
22:25So today, we're at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre in London
22:28to hopefully turn us two clowns into serious actors
22:32with a masterclass from one of our country's finest.
22:35Martin Freeman is a national treasure.
22:39He first shot to fame as the beloved Tim
22:41in the smash hit series The Office
22:43before taking the world by storm
22:45is billed by Baggins in the blockbuster Hobbit trilogy.
22:49Hello, Martin.
22:50Hello. Nice to see you.
22:52Yeah, and you. You're looking very cool today.
22:55But most importantly for us, he's no stranger to Shakespeare,
22:58having played the title role
23:00in the critically acclaimed sellout run of Richard III.
23:03So, if anyone can bring out our inner actors, it's Martin.
23:07We need help. How can I help you?
23:08Yeah, we need help.
23:09Basically, we are doing a performance at The Globe,
23:11Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet.
23:13I'm playing Romeo. You're Mercutio.
23:15I've got to be sad.
23:17Jeez. I mean, that's quite a task.
23:19And as well as me being sad, Rom's got to die,
23:21which is obviously difficult to do without looking too eggy.
23:24Yeah, and it's difficult to sort of draw on memories of dying previously.
23:27It is. Well, you're a comic.
23:29Okay, nice. Thank you.
23:30All right, come on.
23:31All right, great. I'm glad you two are getting on.
23:33So, how comfortable are you at the moment with saying these words?
23:39I feel a bit like a football manager that's gone to Holland to manage
23:44and then he starts doing press conferences.
23:46And because he's been so used to talking slowly to the Dutch players,
23:49he has a sort of foreign lilt.
23:51Like who had that? Steve McClellan.
23:53Steve McClellan, yes.
23:54I love that.
23:55You know, because thou shalt pick best 11 to win game.
23:58Yeah, yeah, yeah.
23:59And then the other challenge is having to look at that,
24:02Sure.
24:03in a rough, dying, and be like,
24:06how am I going to not laugh?
24:08Is it okay to say that?
24:09No, but I'd say, like, I will.
24:12So, the bit where I'm getting eggy, I can do that.
24:15Villain am I and all that kind of stuff.
24:17It's the sad bit I'm struggling with.
24:19And the truth is that different people have different ways of doing it.
24:22Some people will do sense memory.
24:24Your breath, your breathing can get you there, you know.
24:27Because I saw a thing where someone would cut a hole in their trousers
24:30and pull a pub with a tweezer.
24:31I've seen that.
24:32Have you?
24:33Yeah, man.
24:34I have seen that.
24:35Yeah, just to get tears.
24:36But the problem is you've only got so many pubes.
24:38I mean, if you're performing every night.
24:40These days.
24:41They do.
24:42Pubes do fall off.
24:43Also, mine have got a lot less resistance than they used to.
24:45Oh, so they just fall off.
24:46You could blow them on like a dandelion.
24:47Before Martin could start working on our performances, first off, we needed to warm up.
24:56I'm doing the play at the moment and still to this day.
24:59I still do sort of articulation exercises to make sure that all your teeth, your lips, everything,
25:04as warmed up and as malleable as possible.
25:06Okay.
25:07So you just want to shake that out.
25:09Really?
25:10Wow.
25:11Why are you laughing?
25:12That was too loose.
25:13Your arms are too long for that.
25:14That was too loose.
25:15Okay, so here's another little one.
25:16Get your tongue all the way clockwise, all the way around your lips.
25:30After a while, you will feel like it does actually got quite a tone because you don't give it.
25:34God, it does, isn't it?
25:35Stretch it out.
25:36Yeah, you do feel it.
25:37Do that on Lou's birthday.
25:40Wow.
25:41I used to do that in the office.
25:43It worked then.
25:45It's still good.
25:4624 years later, it still works.
25:52Clearly, Martin had still got it.
25:54And now it was our turn to show him exactly where we were at.
25:57Let's try from there, right?
25:59Courage, man.
26:00The hurt can't be much.
26:02A plague of both your houses.
26:03Why the devil came in between us?
26:05I was hurt under your arm.
26:07I thought for all the best.
26:08Help me into some house, Benvolio.
26:11A plague of both your houses.
26:13They've made worms' meat of me.
26:15Hmm.
26:16So you're gonna dust it up?
26:18No, well, I'm gonna walk off.
26:20Oh, right, you're gonna walk off.
26:21But, I mean, for this...
26:22Yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:23I don't know what I'm gonna do.
26:24Right, okay.
26:25But then I've got to...
26:26Okay, but no, carry on.
26:27Okay, sorry, yeah.
26:28My very friend hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf.
26:32Oh, Romeo.
26:33Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead.
26:35This day's black fate on more days doth depend.
26:38This but begins the woe others must end.
26:42I think we got it.
26:43Yeah?
26:44Yeah.
26:45You ready?
26:46Yeah, man.
26:47Totally.
26:48And I think if you just stand there with your script in your hand,
26:50laughing, I think genuinely the audience will not have seen anything like it.
26:55Um...
26:56Can I tell you something?
26:57You really had me.
26:58You bastard.
26:59You're so...
27:00You really good at acting bastard.
27:02That was such a rollercoaster.
27:03Horrible.
27:04No, I thought, I assumed that would be obvious.
27:05No, we're believers.
27:06I just thought, wow, brilliant, I'm going into this full of confidence.
27:09Now I'm in pieces.
27:10I feel absolutely rock bottom now.
27:12Sorry.
27:13I hope you've got time to reconstruct us.
27:14Use it.
27:15Yeah, okay.
27:16First things first, we needed to tackle how Ron was going to die.
27:20And after seeing what he was working with, Martin had an idea.
27:24So how are you feeling about the death?
27:26Well, I don't know what to do.
27:27To save you from the thing of dying.
27:30Yeah.
27:31I think when people die off stage and it's reported,
27:33that can be just as effective.
27:35Yeah.
27:36Whoever Benvolio is can take you off.
27:37Yeah.
27:38And the reporting comes back.
27:39Ah, reporting is sh-reporting.
27:41Are you acting or are you fucking a journalist?
27:43Why don't I go home in a cab and then someone tells him I'm sad about it?
27:47But the only issue with that is I sort of then have a sword fight and go off stage.
27:50Yes.
27:51He's left on his own.
27:52No curtain.
27:53Now.
27:54No curtain.
27:55What then?
27:56Fine.
27:57What are you each going to have to lay there until they all leave?
27:59That's quite a long time.
28:00Come on.
28:01Are we acting or not?
28:02The only thing.
28:03Listen.
28:04What are we doing here?
28:05Let me just tell you something.
28:06The relish that you're putting into this, I will be putting into you crying.
28:10No.
28:11Can I do it?
28:12Yeah.
28:13So you want me to just lie on the stage?
28:14Until they all leave?
28:15I think that.
28:16What a commitment.
28:17Go for the glory.
28:18There's some breath in it.
28:19Okay.
28:20Sorry.
28:21So you want me to just stay on the stage while they leave?
28:23No breath.
28:24There's no breath.
28:25Watch.
28:26Okay.
28:27Oh, so you think I'll just stay on the stage, no curtain, while there's a ten minute pause?
28:30No, it's, it's, I think the mouth has to be, I think the mouth has to be.
28:34Oh, that was so good.
28:35That was the best one I've ever seen.
28:37You are so good.
28:38Thanks.
28:39Rom definitely needed some convincing, so the only way to settle this was to give it a go.
28:44The plague of both your houses, they've made worms meat of me.
28:51My very friend hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf.
28:56Oh Romeo.
28:57Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead.
28:59This day's black fate, and more days doth depend.
29:04This but begins the woe, others must end.
29:11You're off as well, Martin.
29:12Oh, sorry.
29:14And we can, I tell you what, what?
29:16Yeah.
29:17Let's have a little look round.
29:18Yeah.
29:19Brilliant.
29:20As a mate, I'll try and keep that down.
29:23You cannot cruise.
29:24Apart from that, I'm sorry.
29:25I think that's good because that's like a rictus grin.
29:28Yeah.
29:29You can't tell whether he's laughing or dying.
29:30No.
29:31And then...
29:32Christ.
29:38I mean, it hurts quite a lot.
29:40But it is very moving.
29:41Does it look good?
29:42It's very moving.
29:43Yeah.
29:44Because I've never been near a dead ball.
29:45You don't move it immediately, do you?
29:46Just walk away, go back.
29:47I'm all right.
29:48Yeah, I'm fine.
29:49No, I'm fine.
29:50I'm fine.
29:51Don't worry about it.
29:52Don't you get hurt?
29:53What another series?
29:54I think that's a bad idea, by the way, the dragon.
29:56I think you might be right.
29:57Yeah.
29:58Worth a try.
29:59It's worth a look, wouldn't it?
30:00Definitely worth a try now.
30:01Was it?
30:02Now.
30:03There.
30:04So you go, definitely worth a try.
30:05Oh, yeah.
30:06Come on.
30:07You're the best in the business, man.
30:09Oh, wow.
30:10Do you think you should leave?
30:11Do you want to just leave?
30:12Well, I mean, based on how that went, I think leaving is probably better.
30:14Leaving is probably better.
30:15Okay, fine.
30:17Now we decided once and for all I was going to die off stage, it was Rob's turn in the spotlight.
30:22Don't pre-empt the sad, okay?
30:24Okay.
30:25Just try and play the sentiment of it and the feeling of it.
30:27Right, okay.
30:28Right, okay.
30:29And I, for one, couldn't wait to watch him bear his soul.
30:33From my very friend.
30:34You've just seen him go off.
30:36Yeah.
30:37And he's in a bad way.
30:38My very friend hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf.
30:42Oh, Romeo.
30:44Romeo, brave Mercutio's dead.
30:49This day's black fate...
30:51Whoa.
30:58No, listen, man, it's hard.
30:59It's hard.
31:00It is hard.
31:01It's hard.
31:02That is...
31:03It's difficult.
31:04It's difficult.
31:05And I don't even...
31:06I'm not even going to tell you how to do it.
31:07It's hard.
31:08This...
31:09This day's...
31:10No.
31:11Not that.
31:12When you hear the news, this doesn't help.
31:14That.
31:15It doesn't...
31:16And that's a common mistake.
31:17It's a common mistake, right?
31:18Yeah, yeah.
31:19I won't do that.
31:20Rob was having an absolute nightmare.
31:23My very friend...
31:26And he just couldn't get his head around it.
31:28Okay.
31:29I just keep smiling.
31:30It's difficult, this, because Rob can't do it at all.
31:36And I think even if this show was like, Rob got six months of intensive training, he still couldn't do it.
31:41He cannot do it.
31:43And so desperate times called for desperate measures.
31:47Can I make a suggestion?
31:48Yes.
31:49Why don't we shortcut it and you just pull out some pubes?
31:53I can't believe that's the best option, but yeah.
31:55Well, what do you think, Mark?
31:56I think it is the best option.
31:57Well, I don't know if it's the best option.
31:58It's an option.
31:59Yeah.
32:00It's an option.
32:01Just try it.
32:02Can you do something you think you might accidentally start enjoying?
32:06Trillion to death.
32:07That's my kink.
32:08Okay.
32:10Oh, Romeo.
32:11Oh, yeah.
32:12Romeo.
32:13I forgot again.
32:14Sorry.
32:15Brave Mercutio's dead.
32:17This day's black fate on more days.
32:22Doth depend.
32:23Doth.
32:24Doth depend.
32:25But this begins a woe that others must end.
32:29I actually...
32:30I think that was your best performance.
32:31Yeah.
32:32I definitely won't think about the words anymore.
32:33No.
32:34Fucking hell.
32:35I got about eight a go there.
32:36But did you notice what was happening when you were doing that?
32:38Your breath was changing.
32:39Yeah.
32:40Yeah.
32:41Your breath was changing.
32:42Yeah.
32:43Breath is a massive, massive part of emotional connection.
32:46Yeah.
32:47Right?
32:48So there's a thing that I can sometimes access where you don't allow yourself easy breath in
32:53and out.
32:54So it sounds a bit stuttered?
32:55Yeah.
32:56Don't worry about the sound.
32:57Yeah.
32:58Don't worry about your face.
32:59Okay.
33:00None of that.
33:01I can't believe we went for pubes before breath.
33:03Why did you not do the breath?
33:05Well, the pubes were the gateway to the breath.
33:07Come on.
33:08It had been a painful process to get there, but it felt like we were onto something.
33:14My very friend hath got his mortal hurt in my behalf.
33:18Oh, Romeo.
33:20Romeo.
33:21Brave Mercutio's dead.
33:23This day's black fate, or more days doth depend.
33:29Doth.
33:30Doth.
33:31Doth.
33:32Doth.
33:33Doth.
33:34Doth.
33:35Doth.
33:36Doth.
33:37Doth.
33:38Doth.
33:39Doth.
33:40I think we got it.
33:41Doth.
33:42Yeah.
33:43Yeah.
33:44Yeah.
33:45Yeah.
33:48Robert finally found a method that worked for him.
33:50And thanks to Martin, for the first time this week,
33:53we had a real shot of not embarrassing ourselves
33:55in front of 1,600 Shakespeare fans.
33:59Well, I hope I've been of some use.
34:02You've been amazing. Thank you.
34:04I feel way more confident now.
34:06Really? Well, yeah, good luck.
34:08I really hope it goes well. You'll be fine.
34:10And the audience will be behind you. They will enjoy it.
34:12This will be way funnier.
34:14And luckily, it's short.
34:15Sunnier? Huh?
34:16Sunnier?
34:17No.
34:18No.
34:19Can't do it.
34:20More moving, I said more...
34:21Go on, do it.
34:29Go on, do it.
34:30Go on, do it.
34:31Yeah, do it, do it this week.
34:32Go on, Martin, you want to do it.
34:33You want to do it?
34:34Yeah, yeah.
34:35Go on, do it.
34:36Go on, do it.
34:41For the last week, Rob and I have been rehearsing intensely
34:45for our Shakespearean debut.
34:47Courage, man.
34:48The hurt cannot be much.
34:50To see if we had what it takes
34:52to perform one of the Bard's most dramatic plays.
34:54What the devil came in between us?
34:56And after training with some of the best in the business...
34:59I think, genuinely, the audience will not have seen anything like it.
35:03The following day, we had spent working on our performance
35:06with the team at The Globe.
35:09With just a few hours to go, our mentor, Globe's artistic director,
35:23Michelle Terry, had organised a final rehearsal
35:26to iron out any last bumps.
35:28Why don't we slowly walk it from the top?
35:31She'd also brought in her husband, actor Paul Reddy,
35:34who'd be joining us on stage later.
35:36Nice to see you again.
35:37As you know, I'm going to be in the scene with you,
35:39playing Benvolio, and this is Paul Reddy,
35:41who will be your tibble.
35:43I'm Rob and I'll be your Romeo.
35:45Yeah, I'm Ramesh and I'll be Mercutio.
35:47We'd met our co-stars,
35:49but there was one big question on Michelle's mind.
35:52Do you know your lines?
35:53I do, yeah.
35:54I'm struggling because, obviously, it's Shakespeare,
35:57so all the words are mental.
35:59Michelle looked well-worried,
36:01but what I'd found out from rehearsals yesterday
36:03was Shakespearean lingo and my brain just don't get on.
36:06Villain am I none.
36:10I do protest I never injured thee,
36:12but loved thee better than thou can devise.
36:14I felt like I needed another week to learn my lines.
36:17We had less than three hours.
36:19And Michelle, clearly trying to give me a fighting chance,
36:21had stuck them on the wall.
36:23Romeo, thou art a villain.
36:25Villain am I none.
36:27I do protest I never injured thee,
36:29but loved thee better than thou can devise.
36:33But even with the words in front of him,
36:35a plague on both your houses,
36:37Rob was struggling.
36:38My very friend hath got this mortal hurt in my behalf.
36:43And it felt like his final line was going to give him nightmares.
36:47Fave Mercutio's dead.
36:49This day's black fate on more days doth depend.
36:53This but begins that my lovers must end.
36:57It's horrible, isn't it?
36:58It's absolutely horrible.
36:59It's going to be perfect.
37:01I know, I just, yeah.
37:03Rob's struggling.
37:04I've, let's be clear, I've fucking nailed it.
37:07Vile, calm, dishonourable submission.
37:10I am for you.
37:11Come, sir.
37:12You're Posado.
37:14I know the lines.
37:15I know I did the sword fight.
37:17It wouldn't have surprised me
37:18if they actually cast me as Mercutio.
37:20Why the devil came in between us?
37:22I was hurt under your arm.
37:24I thought, I thought all for the best.
37:27Have I heard a single word of praise?
37:29No.
37:30Michelle came over to me after one rehearsal.
37:32I thought she was going to go, well done.
37:33She goes, do you think Rob's okay?
37:35But I'm chill about it.
37:36It's fine.
37:37You know, we've got to look after Rob and stuff.
37:38And who cares?
37:39I've spent my time learning the lines,
37:41and yet I haven't received even a pat on the back.
37:43Is that all right?
37:44Yes.
37:45Really good.
37:50I struggled through an hour of rehearsals,
37:52and now the Globe was filling up ready for the main performance.
37:55I had about 90 minutes to try and get the lines in my head.
37:59My villain and my mum.
38:00I do protest.
38:01I never...
38:02I never...
38:03You do.
38:05To move is to star.
38:07And to be valiant.
38:08The show had started.
38:101,600 people were watching.
38:12Suddenly, I was very motivated not to make a mug of myself.
38:16I think I've got it.
38:17I need to show you.
38:18Yeah, go on, show me.
38:19Rob is anxious about it now, but when he gets on stage,
38:23just the fact that there's a crowd there will just buoy him through.
38:26What I'm slightly nervous about is that he'll walk out there,
38:29he'll forget a line, his arse will go and start doing some crowd work.
38:32Oh, Romeo, Romeo.
38:34Brave my cushy is dead.
38:36This day's black fate on others doth depend.
38:40On more days.
38:41Back off.
38:42I need a little kick up the arse from Dr Showbiz.
38:45And when I walk out there and there's loads of people,
38:48hopefully something happens.
38:49It may or may not, but all I've got now is the lap of the gods.
38:55Our curtain call was around the corner,
38:57so we were off to costume to get stuffed into some Elizabethan gear.
39:01Hey, yo!
39:08But the outfits definitely weren't helping our nerves.
39:14Why do I look so fucking fat in this?
39:18Mental.
39:20I think the trousers aren't doing you any chances.
39:22We were meant to be delivering a serious Shakespearean tragedy
39:25and I was starting to worry about how the audience would react.
39:28My ears are poking out.
39:29My ears.
39:30Is that right?
39:31Like Legolas.
39:34Is it supposed to be like that?
39:36My ears are supposed to be like that.
39:38How have I pulled Juliet?
39:42The play had hit its tragic climax.
39:45For never was a story of more woe.
39:48And now it was our turn to follow.
39:56That's so sick.
39:58I don't like it.
39:59I could shit myself and vomit.
40:00I wouldn't notice on this.
40:05We were about to step out in front of a packed Globe audience.
40:08Bill and I am numb.
40:09Am I numb?
40:10Shit.
40:11And all I could think of was, could Rob and I truly convince the crowd that we could pull off a serious Shakespearean tragedy?
40:21I stepped on stage for a massive cheer, but then they must have cropped my costume.
40:34Thankfully, we had Michelle and Paul to add some much-needed gravitas.
40:38Good in.
40:39A word with one of you.
40:40And but one word with one of us.
40:41Couple it with something.
40:42Make it a word and a blow.
40:43We talk here in the public haunt of men, here all eyes gaze on us.
40:44Men's eyes were made to look.
40:45And let them gaze.
40:46Rob came out to a raucous cheer.
40:47And now with both of us on stage, looking like a pair of extras from Blackadder, all sense of seriousness had evaporated.
40:50Romeo!
40:51Thou art a villain.
40:52Villain am I know.
40:53I do protest.
40:54I never injured thee, but I love thee better than me.
40:57And the public haunt of men.
40:58In the public haunt of men, here all eyes gaze on us.
41:01Men's eyes were made to look.
41:02And let them gaze.
41:03Rob came out to a raucous cheer.
41:04And now with both of us on stage, looking like a pair of extras from Blackadder, all sense of seriousness had evaporated.
41:10Romeo!
41:11Thou art a villain.
41:13Villain am I know.
41:15I do protest.
41:17I never injured thee.
41:18But I love thee better than thou devise.
41:21Oh, calm, dishonorable, vile submission.
41:24Even Rob was struggling to keep a straight face.
41:27Never mind a Shakespearean tragedy.
41:29This was fast becoming a personal one.
41:32Come, sir.
41:34Your passato.
41:35We needed something dramatic to turn this round.
41:37Hold on!
41:42Good material shot!
41:48I'm hurt.
41:49A plague on both your houses.
41:50I'm spent!
41:51What?
41:52A scratch, a scratch.
41:53Merit is enough.
41:54Courage, man.
41:55The hurt cannot be much.
41:56A plague on both your houses!
41:57Why the devil come you between us!
41:58I was hurt under your arm!
41:59I thought all for the best!
42:00Help me into some house, Benvolio.
42:01man the hurt cannot be much a plague of both your houses why the devil come here between us
42:06I was hurt under your arm I thought all for the best help me into some house Benvolio
42:12a plague of both your houses
42:18it was time to make my exit and as I staggered off in my death throes
42:25now it was all up to Rob could he get his last line my very friend hath got this mortal hurt in my
42:33behalf oh Romeo Romeo brave Mercutio is dead
42:42this day's black fate on more days doth depend but that begins the woe
42:53others must end
43:15Roman I pulled off one of Shakespeare's most dramatic scenes and the crowd loved it
43:23and what made it even better was I hadn't forgotten a single line
43:30that was um I think the hardest thing we've ever done yeah
43:45yeah it was you say it was up there we did and that was hard to be fair look I don't want to
43:50I don't want to blow smoke up your pipe but that was difficult
43:52yeah I don't want you to blow smoke up my pipe either
43:55couldn't get to verily we started this Shakespeare journey
43:58there were many challenges that lay before us
44:00for us the challenge is complete upon many of the problems one included the impossibility for
44:06you to etch the lines upon your cerebellum
44:08verily though you were able to remember nay recite
44:13the very lines that you were acquired to by the owners of the globe theater
44:17the worms I mean German
44:24the bard
44:26it was difficult to do the Shakespeare but we managed it
44:32okay come on then let's go
44:34come on oh god
44:36I'm gonna go I'm open the bedroom door and go Lisa verily I would like to mount you
44:43but you and me
44:48I will always
44:51be together
44:53you and me
44:55always
44:57and forever
44:59you and me
45:14always
45:16you
45:18you
45:20you
45:22you
45:24you
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