In 2016, Tui-nominated songwriter Paul McLaney set 12 of Shakespeare’s soliloquies to music for Play On – a performance at Auckland's Pop-Up Globe featuring the likes of Julia Deans, Laughton Kora, Maisey Rika and Mara TK.
"It seems in 400 years no-one has set them to music. They're so poetic and a lot of them lend themselves very well to song structure" McLaney says.
He performs 'To Be or Not To Be' from Hamlet (and other soliloquies from Macbeth and Twelfth Night) with Fur Patrol's Julia Deans and The Black Quartet on strings.
Play On is now touring the country, with a different all-star cast performing at the Taranaki International Arts Festival, the Christchurch Arts Festival, the Auckland Live International Cabaret Season and the Nelson Arts Festival.
Actors and musicians collaborate in honour of The Bard
Tony Stamp stops by rehearsals for Play On, a performance at Auckland's Pop-up Globe that saw a selection of Shakespeare's soliloquies set to music. Video, Audio, Gallery
EXCLUSIVE ALBUM PREVIEW: our fave NZ musicians perform Shakespeare's soliloquies
Play On is a collection of songs written by Paul McLaney and performed by the likes of Julia Deans, Mara TK, Maisey Rika, Laughton Kora and Ria Hall. Video
