"Ours is Chaucer's Stratford, which is rather older than Shakespeare's." - Joan Littlewood  

For Shakespeare Week, we are taking a moment to celebrate the Bard's longstanding presence right here in the heart of E15, the other Stratford. While many people associate these 400-year-old plays with the manicured lawns of Stratford-upon-Avon or the reconstructed Globe on the South Bank, Stratford East maintains a gritty, vibrant relationship with these classic texts. Our theatre has long served as a defiant alternative to the "prestige" of traditional performance, proving that Shakespeare belongs to the streets of East London just as much as any royal stage. 

Throughout the years, there have been many iterations of Shakespeare at Stratford East starting with RICHARD III (1885) which was the first Shakespeare play to feature at the Theatre Royal Stratford East and the 9th show to be performed on the now iconic stage. Skipping through the years we presented over 6 versions of Macbeth and over 9 versions of Hamlet leading to last year’s ROMEO AND JULIET (2025). For this production, we teamed up with Sadler’s Wells East for a massive, modern adaptation. We reimagined Verona as a bustling East London landscape where the two households clashed amid nightlife and street food vendors. By mixing professional actors with local young performers, we proved that themes of family loyalty and young love stay razor-sharp in E15. 

Our musical heritage also plays a huge role in how we tackle the Bard. Take THE BIG LIFE as a prime example. While it is a ska musical, it is also a reimagining of Love's Labour's Lost. By moving the story from sunny Navarre to the Windrush generations arrival on the cold London streets, the production grounded the universal nature of the plot in a vital piece of British history. 

These productions prove that Shakespeare remains a living, breathing part of our community rather than a relic of the past. Stratford East continues to reveal the raw humanity at the core of these historic stories and prove how relevant they can still be. Whether through a ska beat or a modern East London streetscape, we ensure that every performance speaks directly to the people of E15.  

We invite you to join us as we keep pushing the boundaries of what these classic plays can achieve in the modern world by becoming a member and supporting theatre in the heart of East London for many years to come.