In response to the many recent commemorations of the 400th anniversary of the death of Shakespeare, two great Shakespearean actors, Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance, went on National Public Radio and on YouTube to reaffirm their adherence to the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt, which questions the Stratfordian authorship theory. You can see the 30-minute YouTube video here:
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In the video, Jacobi and Rylance, sitting in a casual living room setting surrounded by books, explained their reasons for doubting that grain merchant William Shakspere of Stratford was the author of the works that have been attributed to him. Both actors stressed the need for an extended, civilized dialogue about the authorship question. They noted that they had been subjected to cruel ad hominen attacks because of their open-mindedness about the traditional authorship theory. Jacobi and Rylance helped to launch the Declaration of Reasonable Doubt, a project of the Shakespeare Authorship Coalition, in 2007.
Sir Derek and Mark also appeared in a 7-minute interview this morning, “Two Shakespearean Actors Revive Debate Over The Bard’s Identity,” on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition with Renee Montagne.
Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark Rylance are both Honorary Lifetime Trustees of the Shakespeare Oxford Fellowship.
