Coriolanus Cast: Shakespeare's First Folio (2013)

November 22, 2013: 

The cast of Donmar Warehouse's Coriolanus had the great privilege of viewing Shakespeare's First Folio at the Guildhall Library. The First Folio was originally printed in 1623 and contains 36 of Shakespeare's plays. Several of the plays inside the Folio (including Coriolanus) were never published during Shakespeare's lifetime.

Tom Hiddleston, known for his tremendous love of Shakespeare, described the experience of holding the ancient book as "thrilling in a nerdy way" and "very exciting". 

In the video you can hear Tom read the poem Ben Johnson wrote as a preface to the First Folio. And because Tom Hiddleston is Tom Hiddleston he read the poem with the original Early Modern English pronunciation. 

This Figure, that thou here seest put,
It was for gentle Shakespeare cut:
 Wherein the Grauer had a strife
 with Nature, to out-doo the life:
 O, could he but haue dravvne his vvit
 As vvell in brasse, as he hath hit
 His face; the Print vvould then surpasse
 All, that vvas euer vvrit in brasse.
 But, since he cannot, Reader, looke
 Not on his picture, but his Booke.

Mark Gatiss said it felt like "touching a holy relic". 

The Guildhall Library posted several pictures of the Coriolanus cast; Tom (Coriolanus), Mark (Menenius), Peter De Jersey (Cominius), Birgitte Hjort Sorensen (Virgilia), Deborah Findlay (Volumnia), and Hadley Fraser (Aufudius), on their twitter.

 

Fashion:

Tom Hiddleston wore his Armani Exchange quilted jacket and Armani Exchange Waffle Knit Hideaway sweater 

Credits:

Telegraph
Guildhall Library
The British Library