The other week (sorry for the delay in writing) I went to the NT Live broadcast of Comedy of Errors with some friends. This is not the place to dwell on the glories of the NT Live initiative, although it always makes me want to misquote The New Colossus – “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to watch great theatre”, as it gives access to those who haven’t the money, or the time, or the courage or the health to go to London.

It was a very enjoyable evening, although, at the interval, the consensus was that “the language” had proved a little daunting to begin with. Shakespeare is, of course, a denser, more descriptive and more imaginative language than we are used to in the every day. Added to which, the production’s modern day setting combined London accents with Kenyan ones to create a glorious cosmopolitan atmosphere which was, however, initially demanding on the ears. Comedy of Errors begins with a long static narrative which, in this production, was taken up by the actors, who fluently mimed the tale as it unfolded. It was beautifully done, articulate and expressive, giving shape and form to the monologue. As the play progresses, and we grow comfortable with the linguistic style, such visual aid becomes unnecessary: we learn to trust the words to draw the pictures and create dimension. By the end of the play that initial uncertainty about “the language” had gone – our ears had attuned themselves and it had become effortless. Better than effortless – we were revelling in the linguistic cornucopia.

This language is really all that Shakeseare is. As a historical person he is notoriously shrouded in mystery; and the bulk of his work lies in these thirty-odd scripts containing  nothing but dialogue.  Very little else remains: there are very few stage directions, there was no set – there are just these words to be spoken out loud. These utterances tell the story, reveal the character, create the play, transform our lives. From these scrappy scripts come characters who have been absorbed into popular consciousness, stories which are endlessly re-told and adapted, words and phrases now completely integral to the way we use English. It is truly amazing and utterly wonderful.