Leontes from The Winter’s Tale Act 1, Scene 2 performed by Ben Crystal  

This week on Speak The Speech, we are joined by actor, author and creative producer, Ben Crystal. Ben performs a speech from The Winter’s Tale and shares his knowledge of received and original pronunciation in Shakespeare’s works. He also talks about Shakespearean rehearsal and production practices, examines the evolution of Shakespeare’s verse over his career, and discusses the process of creating his acclaimed co-authorship of Shakespeare’s Words.  

Ben Crystal is an actor, author and creative producer, and explorer of original practices in Shakespeare rehearsal and production. He is the co-author of Shakespeare’s Words, The Shakespeare Miscellany and An Illustrated Dictionary of Shakespeare. He also wrote the Springboard Shakespeare series for Arden, and his first solo book, Shakespeare on Toast was shortlisted for the Educational Writer of the Year Award. From 2014 to 2016 he was invited with his father, David Crystal, to explore original pronunciation (OP) in the newly finished Sam Wanamaker Playhouse at Shakespeare's Globe.  

He is a special advisor to the Shakespeare North Playhouse, a patron of Shakespeare Week and the founder of the international Shakespeare Ensemble, which makes full-scale productions in 5 days or less. He’s travelled the world teaching and performing Shakespeare, and has delivered speeches for the British Council, TEDx, and universities worldwide.