Speaking the Bright & Beautiful English of Shakespeare | Ben Crystal | British Council & the ESU

The British Council and the English-Speaking Union welcomed actor, author, and producer Ben Crystal as part of the English Language Council lecture series.

Featuring sonnets, fast-paced poetic dialogue, verse overlap, original pronunciation, and plenty more, this 2014 lecture marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare.

(This full edit was long-lost; the lecture is also available in short clips - part 1 is here:    • Ben Crystal | Part 1: Sonnet 18 | Spe...  )

The guardian of English poetry, the inventor of over 1,000 words still in use today, and one of the greatest players with our language, Shakespeare has given us a treasure trove of English to read - funny how so much of it doesn't make sense until it's spoken out-loud.

Ben explores the accent, the theatrical conventions, and the world of Shakespeare, to reveal a bright and beautiful English.

With the actors Jennifer Jackson & Aslam Husain.