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Please note: Info provided by the Event Organiser
About the show
Actors Lee Mack, Miles Jupp & Paterson Joseph & witnesses Richard Ayoade & Professor Emma Smith are set to face real-life lawyers Kate Gallafent KC, Edward Henry KC, Andrew Hochhauser KC & Dinah Rose KC on stage at London’s Criterion Theatre for ‘The Trial of Shakespeare’, a one-off fundraiser on Monday 8 December 2025. This theatrical trial will be conducted by High Court judge Dame Joanna Smith, with proceeds from the event supporting the vital work of Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation.
In this part-scripted, part-improvised one off, comedian Will Kemp has walked out of Shakespeare’s acting company and taken the playwright to court, claiming he was forced out by having to perform Shakespeare’s terrible jokes, night after night. Under the eyes of a High Court judge, top barristers will cross-examine expert scholars and leading actors, as they take to the witness box to defend – or condemn – our national poet.
The cast includes comedian and actors Lee Mack as Kemp and Miles Jupp as Shakespeare, and actor Paterson Joseph as Robert Armin, a performer in Shakespeare’s company; with writer, director & comedian Richard Ayoade and Shakespeare academic Professor Emma Smith as expert witnesses. Theatre & film director Josie Rourke directs, with script by dramatist Jonathan Myerson and barrister Benet Brandreth KC legal adviser. The team of top KCs participating have taken part in some of the biggest cases in recent British history.
Please note that the artists appearing may be subject to change.
Featuring
Lee Mack
Lee Mack is one of the UK's most recognisable and celebrated comics. His relentless determination to have fun is marvellously infectious and leaves his audience exhausted by laughter, and his energy, finely crafted one-liners and quick ad-libs make him a force to be reckoned with on the stand-up circuit.
See Lee Mack tour dates
Richard Ayoade
Perhaps most famous for playing computer geek Maurice Moss in Channel 4's The IT Crowd, Richard is also a stand-up comedian and presenter. He has hosted Channel 4's Gadget Man and is team captain on panel show Was It Something I Said?. He also directed Submarine, the acclaimed 2010 comedy-drama film set in Wales, landing himself a BAFTA nomination.
See Richard Ayoade tour dates
Miles Jupp
“Someone you could listen to forever on almost any subject" - British Comedy Guide. Miles uses his toff persona to great comedic effect, combining superbly patronising remarks with ungainly attempts to laddish. Perrier award nominated Miles discusses, rants about himself, you, domestic imprisonment, fatherhood, having to have opinions, hot drinks, the bloody government, bad balance, housing, ill health, the ageing process, navigation, other people's pants and, inevitably, a number of other things. Miles started performing stand up in Scotland in 2000 and the following year won both So You Think You’re Funny and The Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year. Since then Miles has performed all over the world with his exasperated style of humour, getting a laugh from all of those everyday things that you get a little irked about. His many TV credits include Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow and BBC2 hit sitcom Rev, whilst on Radio 4 he's known as panel show host of It's Not What You Know along with appearances on Just a Minute, I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue and sitcom In And Out Of The Kitchen, which was nominated for a Writers' Guild Award and will transfer to BBC television in 2014. 'A master of metaphor, a seignior of similes' (Independent) 'His suitcase gags are cute, but this show goes from strength to strength as Jupp finds subjects worthy of his moral outrage' (The Guardian).
See Miles Jupp tour dates
Address
218-223 Piccadilly
Piccadilly Circus
London
W1V 9LB
- Website:
- criterion-theatre.co.uk
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on Monday 8 December 2025