I was pleased to see that Patrick Stewart received a knighthood in the New Year Honours list for services to drama. I think he is one of our finest classical actors and well deserves the honour. That said, he is equally at home on TV and film. I first saw him on TV as Sejanus in the very successful I, Claudius series, which also made a star of Derek Jacobi in the title role.
Sir Patrick has a long history of working at the RSC and has played various Shakespearan roles including Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Leontes in Winter’s Tale. He returned to the RSC in 2008 to play Antony in Antony and Cleopatra at the Swan, and in 2009 played both Claudius and the Ghost in the RSC’s recent Hamlet.
He achieved international fame playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: the Next Generation, which ran for seven years. Ironically, he is now better known for this than for his considerable experience of Shakespeare – not unlike David Tennant, universally known for Dr Who rather than for his work in classical theatre.
Sir Patrick has played many different roles in a variety of media, including Professor Xavier in the X-Men trilogy, and in recent years has appeared on the London stage in The Master Builder, Waiting for Godot and a one-man Dickens show.
Sue Taylor
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