Sir Patrick Stewart Is Reading Shakespeare To Online Fans
Image: Screengrab @SirPatStew/Twitter
Most fans today probably know Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard or Professor X, but long before he played these rolls, Stewart was a longtime (and Olivier Award-winning) member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Now, the legendary Star Trek actor is turning his love of the Bard’s work into a series of videos to help give everyone a little moment of zen during the stressful times we are all in.
Stewart is reciting daily Shakespeare sonnets while he’s self-isolating and sharing videos on social media with the hashtag, #ASonnetA Day. A casually dressed Stewart first recorded himself reading Shakespeare's Sonnet 116 ("Let me not to the marriage of true minds ..."), which you can watch below:
Encouraged by the outpouring of support from fans, Stewart tweeted this the next day:
When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn't much) and as she put it in front of me she would say, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.' How about, 'A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away'?
Shakespeare wrote 154 sonnets so hopefully we have a lot more Stewart videos to look forward to. The first season of Star Trek: Picard just wrapped, and if you haven’t already watched it you can do it now for free (another gift from Sir Pat Stew!) Head over to CBS All-Access and use the code: GIFT to catch the entire first-season until 4/23.
Meanwhile, here's some ideas on what you can do to help during the coronavirus pandemic.