Coronavirus: Sir Patrick Stewart starts 'sonnet a day' Shakespeare readings on Twitter to beat self-isolation boredom

Star Trek star will make sonnet reading videos a daily habit during self-isolation

Louis Chilton
Monday 23 March 2020 15:39 GMT
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Patrick Stewart reads Shakespeare's Sonnet 1

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Sir Patrick Stewart has come up with a fun approach to help keep people calm and entertained while self-isolating during the coronavirus pandemic: filming himself reciting Shakespeare.

The veteran actor posted a video of himself reading Shakespeare’s ”sonnet 116” on Twitter two days ago. Yesterday, he announced that the readings would become a regular habit while people are instructed to remain indoors.

When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn’t much)”, the Picard star wrote, “and as she put it in front of me she would say, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’”

He continued: “How about, ‘A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away’? So...here we go: Sonnet 1.”

Fans of Stewart can look forward to a new video each day from the actor, who has an extensive background in performing Shakespeare's works on stage.

Stewart has appeared in productions of plays including The Tempest, Macbeth, Hamlet, Twelfth Night and The Merchant of Venice.

He is not the first celebrity to come up with an inventive way to help people pass the time while self-isolating.

Artists including Chris Martin and John Legend have started performing live music online for people trapped at home because of the virus.

You can keep up-to-date with the latest coronavirus news here.

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