Tag: Shakespeare

Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Romeo & Juliet

capuletsToday’s throwback takes us to, probably, the most famous star-crossed lovers in history… Oh, no, sorry, I am not talking about Carrie and Brody 😀

Damian Lewis is no stranger to Shakespeare. He played Romeo in Birmingham Rep’s Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet in Hamlet in the Open Air Theatre, Regent’s Park, London in 1993 and 1994, respectively, as a fresh graduate of Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Then he did his Broadway debut as Laertes to Ralph Fiennes’ Hamlet in Almeida Theatre’s production in 1995. Damian also performed as Posthumous in Cymbeline and Don John in Much Ado About Nothing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also brought to life a lovely Benedick on BBC’s Shakespeare Retold: Much Ado About Nothing. Damian took on the role of Lord Capulet in a 2013 big screen adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Damian kicked off Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday Celebrations in 2014 at Guildhall Library reading the great man’s first five sonnets and he gave a wonderful performance of Mark Antony’s “Friends, Romans, Countrymen” speech from Julius Ceasar  in The Guardian‘s Shakespeare Solos in 2016. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis in Romeo & Juliet”

Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison

“I was riding home one night on my motorbike. I was in North London. I was on Caledonian Road. I was outside Pentonville Prison. Next thing I knew was I was flying through the air and going straight to the windscreen of a car. This is called Pentonville Prison.” – Damian Lewis

Damian Lewis performing “Pentonville Prison” at St John’s Church in Kingston, UK

Damian Lewis’ second album, Sweet Chaos, is finally here, and with it comes one of the songs fans have been waiting years to hear officially: Pentonville Prison. After making its live debut as “Fate” at Union Chapel in 2023 and becoming a regular highlight of Damian’s concerts, the song has finally found its home on the album.

You can stream or buy Sweet Chaos here. If you want to hear Pentonville Prison and the rest of the album performed live, Damian heads out on his UK tour this October. Tour dates and tickets are available here. And before we dive into the remarkable true story behind the song, if you missed any of our previous Song of the Week features, you can catch up with them all here.

Now, Pentonville is an actual prison on Caledonian Road in Barnsbury, North London. But don’t worry—the track isn’t about Damian doing time there. Instead, it’s inspired by a motorbike accident he had right outside the prison many years ago. Continue reading “Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison”

Happy Shakespeare Day with Damian Lewis!

source: dailymail.co.uk
source: dailymail.co.uk

Happy Shakespeare Day! We are celebrating the great man’s life and influence on English language today.

If you wanna have your own personal Shakespeare party, I highly recommend you to download The Love Book App and have Damian Lewis read Sonnet 130: My Mistress’ Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun directly to your ears! Or if you want to party with us here then let’s travel back to a special Shakespeare party kicked off by a certain Damian Lewis!

Better yet, get the app and party with us, too 😀

April 23, 2014 Wednesday. I have  to sit in front of my computer all day at work so I just let myself indulged in everything Shakespeare for occasional procrastination, from finding out about words that we owe to him, e.g. bedazzled, fashionable, pageantry to New York Public Theater’s celebration tweets with favorite Shakespeare quotes and verses, and to a extremely special birthday party at Guildhall Library — Complete Reading of Shakespeare’s Sonnets — kicked off by a certain someone 🙂 Continue reading “Happy Shakespeare Day with Damian Lewis!”

Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison

“I was riding home one night on my motorbike. I was in North London. I was on Caledonian Road. I was outside Pentonville Prison. Next thing I knew was I was flying through the air and going straight to the windscreen of a car. This is called Pentonville Prison.” – Damian Lewis

We can’t wait for Damian Lewis’ second album sometime this spring, and one of the songs we’re really rooting to see on the album is Pentonville Prison. We’ll be diving into that track this week in Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week series.

And before we get into it, if you missed any of the previous Song of the Week posts, you can find them all here.

Now, Pentonville is an actual prison on Caledonian Road in Barnsbury, North London. But don’t worry—the track isn’t about Damian doing time. Instead, it’s inspired by a motorbike accident he had right outside the prison many years ago. Continue reading “Damian Lewis’ Song of the Week: Pentonville Prison”

TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2025: Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live!

One of my favorite traditions on Fan Fun is writing the Top Damian Lewis Moments of the Year. And every single year, Damian somehow makes this job both very easy and completely impossible at the same time — because how do you even choose?

He acts. He sings. He plays sports. He lends his voice to art work. He supports charities. And in May 2025, he gave us a moment that felt very special: Shakespeare, live, under the stars, in Regent’s Park. I envy everyone that was there that night in the most positive way!

Yes. Let’s talk about that night. Continue reading “TOP Damian Lewis Moments 2025: Shakespeare for Every Day of the Year – Live!”