Actors Lee Mack, Paterson Joseph and Richard Ayoade 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 ‘Is Shakespeare Funny? – 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 actor Lee Mack as Kemp, and actor Paterson Joseph as Robert Armin, a performer in Shakespeare’s company; with writer, director and comedian Richard Ayoade and Shakespeare academic Professor Emma Smith as expert witnesses. Theatre and 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.
The star-studded event celebrates the 25th anniversary of Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation (CSSF), a cultural education charity. Every year CSSF runs the world’s largest youth drama festival, supporting thousands of pupils from across communities and backgrounds to perform Shakespeare on theatre stages across the UK, building skills to last a lifetime.
Paterson Joseph, CSSF Patron, said: “I couldn’t think of a better way of celebrating 25 years of extraordinary work by Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, raising money for a brilliant cause helping thousands of young people perform Shakespeare, build confidence and take their chance to shine”.
Josie Rourke, the director, said: ‘I’m thrilled to be working with acclaimed barristers, top scholars and world-class comedians to answer one of the pressing questions of all Shakespeare rehearsal rooms: is this actually funny?…’ Josie Rourke, Director
Dame Joanna Smith, High Court Judge, said: “This is the latest in a series of celebrated celebrity courtroom showdowns, and promises to be a playful, fast moving, irreverent evening of razor-sharp repartee, which I’m very much looking forward to presiding over”
Is Shakespeare Funny? – The Trial of Shakespeare takes place at 7.30pm on Monday 8 December 2025 at the Criterion Theatre, London. To book tickets, visit criterion-theatre.co.uk/thetrialofshakespeare.