Welcome to the British Shakespeare Association

For almost 40 years Sarah Stanton shaped the field of Shakespeare studies through her work as chief commissioning editor at Cambridge University Press. Her faith, encouragement and knowledge has been both a source of inspiration for many of those thinking and writing about Shakespeare. Whenever she is

Adrian Lester has become one of the most eminent Shakespearean actors of his generation. He first came to public attention for his stunning rendition of Rosalind in the famous all-male production of As You Like It by the Cheek By Jowl Theatre Company. Since then he has excelled in the roles

Dame Judi Dench is an Oscar award-winning film, stage and television actor. Her Shakespearean screen roles include Mistress Quickly and Hecuba in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V and Hamlet, as well as her lauded appearance as Queen Elizabeth I in John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love

Cicely Berry is Director of Voice at the Royal Shakespeare Company, where, for forty-five  years, she has played a vital role in forming and developing the company’s working practices.  She has had an equally important impact on education and has also made Shakespeare’s language  available beyond

Professor John Russell Brown, who died in August 2015, was a distinguished academic, dramaturg and theatre director. He established one of the country’s first university Drama departments at Birmingham and later ran the scripts department at the National Theatre. He also brought Shakespeare to the wider

R. A. Foakes, who died in December 2013, was a critic, textual scholar, and theatre historian. His landmark edition of Henslowe’s Diary, co-edited with R. T. Rickert in 1961, was an essential work of scholarship surpassing the edition by W. W. Greg. Out of print by the turn of the century, copies fetched

Terence Hawkes, who died in January 2014, was a Shakespeare scholar of international renown. He is best known for his pioneering work in the fields of Literary Presentism (including That Shakespeherian Rag, 1986, and Shakespeare in the Present, 2002) and for his influence on Literary Theory following

Sir Stanley Wells is Honorary President and Former Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Dame Janet Suzman is one of the most pioneering performers and directors of Shakespeare during the last 50 years. As an actor, she has infused her roles with powerful emotions provoking the audience into startlingly new appraisals of the play. Her achievements as a director have been extensive and had

Chris Grace has made Shakespeare live for young people. In 2000 he founded the Shakespeare Schools Festival, which is the largest youth drama festival in the UK and offers the opportunity for young people of all abilities and from all backgrounds to engage with Shakespeare. In addition,