The Stratford Boys

Jan Mark’s brilliance as a writer is shown to excellent effect in Martin Jarvis’s reading of The Stratford Boys. A long novel that sensibly hasn’t been cut down, Mark’s recreation of the young Will Shakespeare’s first attempt to put on a play is gloriously witty as it reveals the ‘true’ story of how A Midsummer’s Night Dream came about. With an apparently hapless cast, a potentially disruptive audience and a near-useless script, Will Shakespeare sets to to pull off a theatrical entertainment for the people of Stratford. Jan Mark throws in social history, literary background and a great deal of human insight as dud rehearsals, the scrounging around for props and the sudden discovery of an unexpected star – all of which have become time-honoured theatrical tensions – lead up to the unexpected success of the first night. With his unusual ability to capture the nuances of boys’ dialogue, Jarvis is able to bring the vast cast of wonderful characters to life in what is not only a terrific story but also a wonderful introduction to Shakespeare.