Good friend for Jesus sake forbeare,

To dig the dust enclosed here.

Blessed be the man that spares these stones,

And cursed be he that moves my bones.

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A lot of people familiar with the life (and death) of William Shakespeare will quickly recognise the famous epitaph that adorns his final resting place in Trinity Church, Stratford. This website is nothing to do with the last physical remains of the great writer–his bones (and whatever secrets that may be buried with them!) are safe.

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No, our work is about disturbing Shakespeare’s metaphysical bones; the bones of the body of work that he left behind. In short, this site is dedicated to finding out what happens if the bones of his life, mind, and writing are shaken up, and then their essence is rearranged, realigning them in such a way that a new body of work, and way of working, can be created.

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This is something that's been ongoing for over 20 years and, to our knowledge, we have not yet been struck down by the curse of William Shakespeare.

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Instead, those incredible years have produced a new body of work, inspired directly and indirectly by both the life and writings of William Shakespeare; this website is about making more people aware of our work, and what this new body of work, and the processes around it, can show us all.

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Have a look around the site, if there's anything that takes your interest, please do get in touch at theworkshopb1@gmail.com

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What We Do

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Our focus is on Shakespeare's life and work, BUT also the work that has come out of those, both to date and to come. To that end our work centres around:

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• understanding what, how, and why Shakespeare achieved what he did, and also what his work has directly or indirectly inspired since his death

• helping to displace Shakespeare from the popular view as the apex and focal point of human understanding and development, preferring instead to see him as the most significant point to date of that ongoing process

• learning as much as possible about the human condition by seeing his plays and poems not just as great works of literature but, more importantly, as phenomenal repositories of knowledge, insights, and guides to the human condition

• recognising that his real benefit to us is in many ways still to be fully realised, by discovering in his works the raw material (words, language, themes, characters, ideas etc) that may yet be further worked upon / developed in new ways

• applying the many changes, discoveries, and limitations/explosions in society and knowledge that have come to pass since Shakespeare's time, in order that his work can be better put into a contextual perspective

• creating and curating new works that perpetuate this continuum tradition and which are directly or indirectly inspired by, or come out of, his work.

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This approach requires many different angles:

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• seeking to find answers to the question "what really went on in the mind of Shakespeare?"

• applying a series of 'what if' questions to everything we come across to get under the perceived truths

• undertaking research into both his work and the work that he has inspired, and making available the results of that research

• commissioning new works inspired by the urge to keep the legacy of Shakespeare a living tradition

• sharing our research and discoveries 

• working collaboratively with other individuals and organisations that share, and can contribute to, the ideals and objectives of this project.

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