Bard in the Bookshop
Shakespeare Lab at Waterstones Gower Street
Walk into your local bookshop and find yourself transported to Verona, Elsinore, or the cliffs of Dover.
At Waterstones Gower Street, Shakespeare comes alive in the aisles!
In just three days of workshop, Will & Co aims to bring the Bard's work to life with energy and spontaneity. Focusing on the power of the words, we want to experience Shakespeare in its raw, most magnetic form: enjoyed by curious actors, immediate and soulful.
Each showing takes the form of an hour-long promenade through Europe's largest bookshop and immerses you in the essence of a Shakespeare play as actors invest this shared space with the Bard's words. We work in trilogies, offering you a 1-h version of a Shakespearean tragedy, comedy and history each season.
as seen in
The Stage
Read more about our showings of Hamlet in the Bookshop
History
Summer 2026
I already have so many wonderful memories of these incredible performances that start with open rehearsals in the bookshop over the weekend before the performances on Monday and Tuesday night - did I mention that they put together this entire production in three days? Anyway, one of my favourite memories was a customer anxiously approaching one of our colleagues and saying: ‘I believe there is a fight breaking out in the Philosophy section.’ Two minutes later she came back and said, very matter-of-factly, ‘Don’t worry Madam, it is simply the English attacking the French.’ It was in fact a rehearsal for Bard in the Bookshop’s Henry V! I can’t wait to see what comes next as both Waterstones Gower Street evolves with the opening of Downstairs at Dillons and the future productions that Will & Co create. Michael Korel, Bookshop Manager at Waterstones Gower Street
As You Like It
March 2026
Starring Harriet Beynon, Christopher Commander, Emma Nihill, Katy Slater, Simon Willshire, Sophie Bloor, Tommy Tancock and Alice Merivale as the Bard
Richard II
History
April 2026
With Alix Dunmore, Anna Hodgson, Callum Broome, Gabriella Foley, Luke Farrugia, Sam Hanna, Sulin Hasso and Amar Aggoun as the Bard
Tragedy
Hamlet
May 2026
Starring Alix Dunmore, Alyssa Elliot, Anna Cornish, Anna Hodgson, Dominic Brewer, Ella Boyes, Geri McNamara, Hannah Young, Harriet Beynon, Jasmin Raymond, Joshua Oakes-Rogers, Kat Novkovic, Katy Slater, Luke Farrugia, Rachael Gavin-Stott and Cristiano Benfenati as the Bard
Comedy
Archives: Spring 2026
Bard in the Bookshop is an experience that every actor needs to have. Shakespeare in unconventional spaces challenges our ability as storytellers and the way Victoria facilitates is second to none. The project is a way to rediscover playfulness, intrigue and a genuine love for getting underneath the text. I loved having the chance to work through Henry V in the bookshop and the entire experience deepened the impact of Shakespeare on me as an actor. Ibraheem Toure, actor
Archives: Winter 2025-26
Comedy
Twelfth Night
5 January 2026
Starring George Wright, Alice Blundell, Tait Brennan, Alyssa Elliott, Kat Novkovic, Luke Farrugia, Harriett Beynon, Lucy Tregear as Malvolio and Alice Merivale as the Bard
The Winter's Tale
Tragedy
December 2025
Starring Ella Boyes, Rishi Rian, Cristiano Benfenati, Martha Maloney, Sam Hanna, Katy Slater, Rachael Gavin Stott and Nigel Sudarkasa as the Bard
Bard in the Bookshop surprises me every time. From children sitting under bookshelves to listen to tourists getting unexpectedly caught in some Shakespeare on the bookshop’s main staircase, I love the idea of bringing theatre to people who might not necessarily have stepped foot in an actual theatre building, or who find sitting for 3 hours to watch a Shakespeare play daunting or expensive. The bookshop, the actors and audiences – willing or unwilling – form a symbiotic and magical relationship, surprising every time. We are also all rediscovering how little you need to actually perform Shakespeare: words, imagination and most importantly, soul.
Victoria Gartner, Director
Much Ado About Nothing
August 2025
Starring Harriet Beynon, Christopher Commander, Emma Nihill, Katy Slater, Simon Willshire, Sophie Bloor, Tommy Tancock and Alice Merivale as the Bard
Henry V
History
July 2025
Starring Alec Bennie, Mila Carter, Alix Dunmore, Sulin Hasso, Cristiano Benfenati, Katherine Moran, Shakira Newton, Jasmin Raymond, Ibraheem Toure and Alice Merivale as the Bard
Tragedy
Romeo & Juliet
June 2025
Starring Alice Blundell, Ella Boyes, Tait Brennan, Jasmin Hinds, Geri McNamara, Riko Nakazono, Jasmin Raymond, Lexi Powell and Debbie Chazen as the Bard
Comedy
Archives: Spring-Summer 2025
Want to join our Bard in the Bookshop
Rep Company?
Are you an actor looking to expand and hone your Shakespeare skills?
To apply for Bard in the Bookshop, we first recommend you come watch one of our showings; it is a very specific way of 'playing' and it might not be for you.
If you're still interested in joining after having seen us, come say hello to us at the end of the show and then send an email with your Spotlight to victoria@willandco.co.uk. Make sure to include a video of yourself doing some Shakespeare - it can be a simple reading of a new text.
We will aim to get back to you within a few weeks. Thank you for your interest!