This year Cunard is taking Shakespeare and new work to the high seas. The luxury cruise line is joining forces with the Royal Shakespeare Company to bring world class theatre to its transatlantic stage.
“To be, or not to be will” not be the question on board Queen Mary 2 as Cunard has joined forces with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to bring tailored theatrical performances on its transatlantic voyages.
Available exclusively on board Queen Mary 2, guests will enjoy unique performances by the RSC, which creates captivating theatre by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other literary legends past and present. The performances will be available for all guests on board, including a unique blend of Shakespeare’s iconic love scenes in a brand new piece called Boundless as the Sea, created by Owen Horsley.
Guests will also have the opportunity to see critically acclaimed new work from the RSC with Miss Littlewood: a musical by Sam Kenyon exploring the life of one of theatre’s most playful and radical figures, making its transatlantic debut.
For those interested in learning what it takes to be an RSC actor, the on board cast will be leading a series of workshops that explore their craft. Guests will also be able to access ‘Shakespeare Tales’, intimate, informal events where the actors will perform their personal favourite sonnets and speeches, and answer questions from the audience.
In addition, Queen Mary 2 will host a touring exhibition, ‘Digital Diorama: An Augmented Journey Through Shakespeare’s Stratford’. Guests will use devices to experience scenes from his plays come to life before their eyes. Some of the RSC’s most popular productions in recent years including Hamlet, Henry V, The Merry Wives of Windsor and As You Like it will also be screened in Cunard’s on board cinema, Illuminations.
The three year partnership will begin on May 29 until August 12, 2022 and then again from September 15 to November 13, 2022, and will offer this bespoke programme exclusively to Cunard guests on Queen Mary 2 throughout these two periods. Guests will experience either Boundless as the Sea or Miss Littlewood on each featured voyage.