Michael Rosen and Chris Riddell

Two powerhouses of children’s literature captivate in this creative event bringing William Shakespeare’s work to life.

Poet Michael Rosen and illustrator Chris Riddell have collaborated on Pocket Shakespeare: A Beginner’s Guide to the Best Bits of the Bard, a celebration of the words of Shakespeare.

In this event, Rosen guides the audience through the Bard’s exploration of love, heartbreak, magic, superstition and more, including insults and one-liners, accompanied by Riddell, who draws live on stage.

Both Rosen and Riddell are former children’s laureates. Rosen has written more than 100 books of fiction, non-fiction, poetry and more for children. His classic picture book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, won the Nestlé Smarties Grand Prize in 1989.

Riddell has won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal for illustration three times, and received the Hay Festival Medal for Illustration at the 2015 Hay Festival. As well as writing and illustrating children’s books, he is a renowned political cartoonist whose work appears in The Observer, The Literary Review and The New Statesman.