Great Canal Journeys (2014) s04e03 Episode Script
Series 4, Episode 3
And I'm Timothy West.
Beautiful.
We've been husband and wife for over five decades.
Amazing.
Cheers.
We've been wedded to stage and screen for even longer.
Great hair, Pru.
PRUNELLA LAUGHS But we share another passion canals.
Cast off, please.
Aye aye, sir.
Canals wind through our lives carrying our treasured memories.
Of families growing up.
Of moments of wonder.
And hidden beauty.
Is this the most remote canal we've ever been on? It probably is, yes.
Of love.
And laughter.
Ah! Sorry about that.
Things are a bit harder for me these days.
I'm not strong enough.
But we get by.
We're at the summit.
Hooray! Pru has a slight condition, it does mean she has difficulty remembering things.
Oh, my darling, I'm so sorry! I didn't cast you off.
One has to recognise that Pru's domestic life is getting a little narrower by the day.
Well, it can be a nuisance, but it doesn't stop me remembering how to open a lock gate, or make the skipper a cup of tea.
OK, cast off.
OK.
We'll be exploring new countries.
It's amazing, isn't it? And following new routes.
I'm lost now.
But one thing stays the same We're always together.
Let's stay right here.
So peaceful.
The Stratford Canal runs through lush Warwickshire countryside, to the hometown of our national playwright.
Pru and I, we're words people, and Shakespeare is the perfect wordsmith, the perfect dramatist.
So, we're embarking on a voyage to pay tribute to him.
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
Her memory is now seriously bad, but she can remember hundreds of thousands of lines of Shakespeare.
And in his last resting place We'll put on a performance in his honour.
OK.
OK.
We'll follow one of Britain's most picturesque Magic.
The heart of England.
.
.
and narrow canals.
There's no safety rail on this bridge.
No.
Frightening.
Along the way, we'll recruit some assistance from three generations of the family West PRUNELLA LAUGHS It's a journey that takes us back in time, to when we were both young actors.
There's the theatre, look! Yes, there it is.
And unlocks our deepest memories.
I'm Titania, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
Who's going to dance? Our journey begins at Kingswood, the Spaghetti Junction of the canal network.
What do you think? Oh, nice.
From here, you can take two separate routes.
To Birmingham, or east to Warwick Right.
Cast off, please, Pruey.
'.
.
or indeed south to Stratford.
' It's a significant year.
2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.
And, incidentally, 200 years since the opening of this canal.
OK! Off we go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the actor's spiritual home.
I've performed in most of Shakespeare's plays, and played several parts more than once.
Right from the start of my working life, I've played the classics, too.
Shakespeare's language, his poetry, is part of us.
What did Judi Dench call Shakespeare? She and Michael called him, "The man who pays the rent.
" Yes, for many years, he helped pay our bills, too.
Beginning at Kingswood Junction, we'll join the Stratford Canal.
Passing by its unique lock-keeper cottages.
We'll cross England's longest aqueduct, before paying a visit to the home estate of Shakespeare's mother.
Then descending the Wilmcote flight, we'll arrive in Stratford itself.
Finally, we'll pay tribute to the Bard at his last resting place.
They don't leave a lot of room these bridges, do they? No.
Can't see how far away I am from No.
You're You're doing well.
OK, and I Gosh, look at the number of people who've bashed into that bridge.
Frightening.
Am I all right? You're all right at the moment.
Well done, that's it.
Stop, you're straight now.
Excellent.
We won't get lost, will we? No, no, no, no! It's very hard to get lost on these canals.
Well, it has been known.
You can't be talking about me, surely.
Just look for the narrowest canal at Kingswood junction, and that's the Stratford.
LOUD BANG Whoops, no room for mistakes.
We're on the Stratford all right.
There was a lot of financial constraint about building this canal, and so you see a lot of, erm .
.
economies.
In the late 18th century, a plan was devised to extend Stratford's waterways north, towards Birmingham.
But it went badly over budget, and the only way to get the canal finished was to reduce the width of its locks to that of a single narrow boat.
It makes it easier for the crew though, as there's only one gate at either end.
It's all right, I'll do it.
No, it's tough.
What? It's a big one.
It's all right I can do it.
All right.
Yes.
All right.
Yes.
You don't You don't think I'm You go and do the, ermpaddle.
Yes, all right.
There are a lot of locks on this journey.
And Pru's doing very well at the moment, but I don't want her to overtire herself.
And she's quite capable of steering the boat.
So, I think I'm going to take over the locks as a general rule.
But just at the moment, she's finding she likes doing it.
So, I'm going to let her be.
Not too bad.
Today, we have nine locks to tackle, before spending the night at a lock-keeper's cottage at Lowsonford.
Magic.
The heart of England This canal may have been built on the cheap, but that doesn't stop it being rather beautiful.
The Stratford also boasts some rather clever innovations.
These split bridges are a very singular arrangement.
The idea is that the bridges don't lift up, they're permanent.
But you unhitch your leading horse, then you pass the lead over the top.
Right over.
And then you pass it down through the gap here? Yes, here.
Here.
Here.
And reattach it.
Yes.
Saves you time and endless amount of effort.
Yes.
Very brilliant.
Very good idea.
The man responsible for designing this canal was the local landowner and engineer, William James.
Largely forgotten by history, he was in fact one of the great transport innovators of his age.
We're on our way to see Terry Deary, who wrote that marvellous collection of, erm Horrible Histories.
And he's also written extensively about William James Terry, hello.
Very good to see you.
Good to see you.
And thank you for your hospitality.
'.
.
and claims he is one of the greatest unsung 'heroes of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
' William James was really responsible for this canal as we know it today, wasn't he? He certainly was because they built a certain amount of the canal then they ran out of money.
Big recession at the end of the French Revolutionary Wars.
Yes.
And he invested his own money in order to get it finished.
He had to be very parsimonious, which is why you've got this very narrow lock Yeah, yeah.
.
.
single locks, single gates.
And little bridges.
They may be single-lock gates, but they're still rather heavy.
I'll come.
If you move up a bit, I'll start here.
Well done.
Oh, your great strength.
As well as being a pioneering canal builder, William James went on to become one of the founding fathers of Britain's railways.
So, William James wasn't just an engineer, he was a visionary and he designed a rail network for the south of England which is basically what we still use today.
He never stopped thinking.
But his passion for a future rail network throughout Britain made him enemies.
Powerful men who had already invested heavily in the building of canals.
When James started surveying railways, as was his right, they did all sorts of underhand tricks to stop him.
Including violence.
And one of his assistants was stabbed in the back with a pitchfork.
So, James hired a professional boxer to defend him.
But it didn't work.
They beat the boxer up.
Oh, God! It's a great story.
It is.
He can't have been a very good boxer.
We think we know all the great engineers and innovators of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
Stephenson, Brunel, Arkwright and so on.
People remember the giants of Victorian railways as the Stephensons, and James is forgotten.
Extraordinary.
But this This is a worthy memorial, isn't it? This canal.
This is better than any memorial in Westminster Abbey, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.
Sure is.
Goodbye.
Thank you very much indeed.
Take care, bye-bye.
Having said goodbye to Terry, we now have a number of locks to tackle before tonight's mooring, and the sun is already nearing the horizon.
I'm not entirely sure that swapping roles this late in the day is a good idea.
Bit more steam.
Bit more speed.
Oh, help! Pru's a game girl and it's not her fault Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
'.
.
that she's a bit out of practice.
' And I could say the same about my crew! Well.
Doesn't matter.
Pru! We're about to see a bit more of William James's work, a lengthsman's cottage.
Oh, right! Which has been bought by The Landmark Trust and restored faithfully.
And we're going to spend the night there.
It's rather exciting.
Oh, what a treat! Lengthsmen were responsible for keeping a length of canal navigable, as well as lock-keeping duties.
They lived in these unique barrel-roofed cottages, another William James innovation.
Oh, it's lovely, isn't it? Yes! Wow.
Oh, we're staying here! Yeah! Welcome.
Oh! Oh, magic! Oh, Timmy.
Oh, it's a second honeymoon.
Yes.
Wouldn't mind being a lengthsman.
The last lengthsman here was Ned Taylor.
Born in the cottage in 1921, this was his home for nearly 80 years.
What a treat.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Oh, it reminds me of Kempslade.
You know, my parents' house.
Extreme countryside, looking out at the sun going down.
Well, that would have been back in the 1950s, whereas this place feels like it hasn't changed much since the 1850s.
Yes, from another time.
A bit like us.
Speak for yourself! Tuesday, September 29th, the second day of our meander down the South Stratford.
Spent night at lockkeeper's cottage.
Very peaceful.
Just the odd passing duck and a very quiet gongoozler to keep us company.
Reminds Pru of our honeymoon back in the summer of '63.
Tim and I met over the crossword.
We were rehearsing a terrible play called She Died Young, subtitled by the cast, None Too Soon.
And, I think I brought the Guardian with me to rehearsal, so we started doing the crossword together while we were waiting for it to be our turn.
I think it was a crossword flirtation, really.
It's amazing how Pru's long-term memory is as sharp as ever.
I liked him for his mind and his imagination, as much as for his proximity when we were doing the crossword together, you know? Hello! Hello! Welcome, welcome.
Can we come on round? Come on round.
For this next leg of our voyage, we've recruited extra crew in the form of my daughter Juliet, with her daughter Kate and baby Khaya.
Today's journey will take us from Lowsonford through nine locks, past unspoilt Warwickshire countryside to the village of Wootton Wawen.
Cast off, please, Jules.
It's great to have extra hands onboard to tackle the locks, although, for some, it will be a few years before they're ready to wield a windlass.
Quite steep.
So stiff, some of them.
All right, you have a go.
I'll probably be worse than you! THEY LAUGH Good.
Well done.
So, how does it feel having the four generations on here? This is the first time, isn't it? I know, yeah! It's Khaya's first time on a boat on the canal.
BABY EXCLAIMS Hello! You enjoying yourself? "All the world's a stage, "and all the men and women merely players.
"They have their exits and their entrances "and one man in his time plays many parts, "his acts being seven ages.
" We have four of the seven ages of man on board today.
Timothy and me representing the seventh age and then there's young Khaya.
"At first, the infant, "mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
"And then the whining schoolboy, "with his satchel and shining morning face, "creeping like snail unwillingly to school.
"And then the lover, sighing like furnace, "with a woeful ballad made to his mistress' eyebrow.
" Yeah.
THEY LAUGH "And then the soldier, "so full of strange oaths and bearded "like the pared, "jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, "seeking the bubble reputation "even in the cannon's mouth.
" You're never too young to enjoy a bit of Shakespeare or, indeed, a canal.
Well, welcome.
Well, he is the captain.
Welcome to the life.
He is the captain, yeah.
So what's it like being a great-grandma? Oh, my God.
I don't think I've, sort of, faced it yet.
It's amazing because I never knew my grandparents.
They were black and white photographs, you know, on my parents' dressing table.
Oh, that's such a shame.
So being a great-grandma is just .
.
incredible.
I love it.
I'm very proud.
All the joy and no responsibility.
Yes.
It's such a lovely spot.
It is, isn't it? Yeah.
So quiet.
Can you take the wine as well? Yep.
Shakespeare was two centuries too early to enjoy a picnic beside this canal Got it? Got it.
And the corkscrew.
Between my teeth.
.
.
but I can imagine him enjoying an afternoon like this, with his wife Anne and their family.
I was just talking to Pru about the beautiful countryside here and how many plays he must have written after seeing it all.
He got a lot of inspiration from the countryside in which he lived.
And this is probably what he called the Forest of Arden.
Yeah.
It's a name he made up, but this is used a lot in As You Like It.
Shakespeare's heroine is Rosalind.
Fearing for her life she flees her uncle's court, seeking safety in the Forest of Arden and eventually finding love here too.
I've always wanted to play Rosalind but I wasn't tall enough.
I once played it in a radio version.
Ah! On radio I'm as tall as anything.
She's very tall on! In A Midsummer Night's Dream he writes about the countryside, doesn't he? Mmm.
Very much so.
I remember playing Hermia at school.
Another short part.
Yes.
Titania over there! Ah, yes! That's right.
I'm Titania.
"Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
" Who's going to dance? Come on.
"I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, "Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows "Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, "With sweet musk roses and with eglantine: "There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, "Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight; "And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin, "Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.
" Bye-bye, Pru.
Bye-bye, darling.
Mmm.
Mmm.
See you soon.
Bye-bye! Mwah! Bye-bye! Now that Juliet's no longer here to help, I'm taking over lock duties, whilst Pru takes the helm.
So cool it a bit.
What? Cool it a bit.
Well, no, no, no.
Just cool it What? Cool it a bit! Cool it a bit! Yes.
I'm just not used to this boat! I can't see, you see.
I've got steps.
SUDDEN BUMP Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
ANOTHER BUMP Oh, help! Gently over to this side.
What? Gently over to this side cos there's another boat coming.
What? You're just going in a straight line at the moment.
What? Move the tiller right open there, towards you! Otherwise you can't turn.
I can! Pru's struggling under pressure, it can happen to anybody.
Oh, dear.
Right over.
Towards you! Oh, bloody hell! Look out! Look out! LOUD BUMP Sorry.
Sorry! I got trapped by a long tiller.
Never mind, you did it.
We're about to meet Professor Stanley Wells.
You probably know him.
We have met him before.
Yes.
At the Shakespeare Institute.
Yes, yes.
And he's a great authority on Shakespeare.
Could I have a hand? Yes, of course.
Thank you.
Oh! Thanks.
Professor Stanley Wells has done a great deal of research on how Shakespeare drew inspiration from the countryside around Stratford.
I once called him "the first great literary commuter.
" I think he spent a lot of time going between Stratford and London.
Of course, he must have based himself in London because of the theatrical scene there.
Yes.
The theatres closed in Lent and during that period he would have had six weeks in which he could have come back to Stratford, had a nice peaceful time here, meeting his friends and writing his plays.
What were the reasons Shakespeare wanted to come back to Stratford? Well, who wouldn't? If you're in London, streets full of stench, a rather unpleasant place in many ways, the thought that you have a little refuge, back in Stratford, where you can look at the countryside, where you can get inspiration I think Shakespeare was a countryman at heart, in fact, I think, and he writes about country things a great deal in his plays.
So I think there's every reason for him to come up to Stratford, observe the countryside, observe the sheep and the deer that he writes about.
And the natural beauty and the peace would have helped bring out his innermost feelings.
Of course, we know that the most personal of Shakespeare's writing is the sonnets.
Yes.
There are 154 sonnets, published in 1609, and many of those are love poems, some of them very intimate poems, really, poems about the anguish that lust and love can cause, and he was constantly aware, I think, of the tensions between love, idealising love, and physical lust, physical desire.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds "Admit impediments.
Love is not love "Which alters when it alteration finds, "Or bends with the remover to remove: "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks "Within his bending sickle's compass come; "Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, "But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
" "Love's not Time's fool.
" That's true for us, isn't it? Yes! Yes, to the edge of doom.
Right Cast off, Pruey! OK, Tim! Thank you! .
.
to the last resting place of William Shakespeare.
It's 400 years now since his death, and here we are, voyaging towards Stratford to honour him.
And he's still part of people's lives.
He says something to everybody.
Astonishing.
Leaving Wootton Wawen, the next leg of our journey will take us across England's longest aqueduct to the childhood home of Shakespeare's mother.
And we end the day on the outskirts of his hometown.
We're just about to come to the Edstone Aqueduct.
It was built in 1816 and you could call it a utility aqueduct.
It may have been built to a budget, but at 475 feet long, and maybe 50 feet high, it's still quite grand.
And for Pru, who's never been too keen on heights, rather alarming! There's no safety rail on this bridge! No.
Has anybody fallen over from here? Oh, I expect so, yes.
Frightening! It's quite impressive.
Yes, I know, but very dangerous for passengers on the boat.
The aqueduct was built to cross the former Alcester Railway.
There was once a pipe fitted to the bottom of the aqueduct, so that passing steam trains could replenish their boilers with canal water.
It's a very long way down.
It is, yes.
I don't know exactly how far.
I don't think I want to know.
I'm always a bit relieved getting over an aqueduct like that.
Leaving the 19th century behind, we're heading back in time toward a structure built in the 16th century.
Where are we going? We're going to see Mary Arden's house.
Oh! Shakespeare's Mother.
Mother.
Very important lady.
Over the years, we've both explored Shakespeare's life and work, but there's always more to discover.
I'd like to know a little more, a lot more, really, about how he was in Stratford.
And to get some feel of what the places looked like.
Mary Arden's farm is on the outskirts of Stratford, walking distance from the canal.
Shakespeare's mother lived on this estate over 400 years ago, and today it's once again a working Tudor farm, with all the farm labourers and servants wearing 16th-century costumes.
Bless them.
Hello! Good day, welcome to Mary Arden's farm.
Thank you.
Do come in.
Thank you.
It's lovely, but we know so little about Shakespeare's domestic life.
Our tour begins in a reconstruction of a Tudor dining room.
Well, this is where he would have learned his manners.
I've had quite a few Tudor meals on stage, but I wonder how accurate they were.
I've certainly been involved in scenes of the period where I was expected to tear the food No.
Limb from limb.
No, not good manners, master.
It's not good manners, is it? And very messy! One of the jobs that children had, and it was part of their training, was to learn how to carve meat.
Mmm.
And the meat would have been carved on the sideboard into fair-sized gobbets.
Oh, yes, to put in your gob.
Exactly.
Right.
That's right.
No forks, but sometimes people carried this, which is called a pricker or a pricket.
Yes.
And this was for stabbing things.
Yes.
You couldyes, just hold it down while you cut it.
Or putting it onto your plate and you could cut it.
Yes.
So there would be none of this ripping meat off bones and throwing them over your shoulder.
It was all very dainty and dignified.
Yeah.
It looks like I've been getting it wrong for 60 years.
HAWK SCREECHES In Tudor times, hunting with hawks was the sport of the nobility.
Hoah! Oh, Bravo! Bravo! But despite being only the son of a wool dealer, Shakespeare seems to have had an in-depth knowledge of falconry.
Falconry, of course, was a very important thing in Shakespeare's life, wasn't it? Lots of references.
He mentions falconry in nearly every one of his writings.
Yeah, yeah.
Haggard hawk.
Yes, that's a bird that's been brought in.
Haggard.
And that's where the term old hag came from.
Oh, really? Aha! Right.
It's an older bird, you see.
Bated breath.
This is when you'll actually see a bird that it bates.
Bating is when they jump off the glove.
Bated breath, like he's really excited.
Yes.
That's right, yes.
Are you excited? HAWK SCREECHES I'm the one with bated breath.
And who's this beauty? This is Milly.
Milly is a barn owl.
Hello, Milly.
Also known as the love owl in the Tudor period because of the heart shape on the front of her face.
Yes, of course.
She's beautiful.
You're beautiful.
So, she's a little girl.
Well, Pru, would you like to have a little go of a bird flying to you? Oh! All right.
Lovely.
I'm going to take a little walk up there now.
Yes.
And you're going to hold your hand like that.
And she's Milly? And this is Milly.
All right? Milly! Milly, come on.
Come on.
Come on, Milly.
Good girl.
Hello, good girl! MILLY SCREECHES You're lovely.
Go back.
You're going back.
Pru's always had a way with animals Oh, it's thrilling.
Well done.
It's thrilling.
So, you'd like a barn owl now, wouldn't you? Yes! Well, that was very exciting, wasn't it? Wonderful to be in a place where so much of his language originated.
Yes, and where you can actually see it in action.
Yeah.
I know, I know.
Thrilling.
And yet another reminder of why Shakespeare matters so much to both of us.
Pru and I, we're words people, we love words, we love language.
And Shakespeare is the perfect wordsmith, perfect story-teller.
The perfect dramatist.
Every time I read another bit of Shakespeare, it reveals something Something new about life and .
.
people .
.
and psychology.
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings.
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
It is extraordinary that you know, her memory is really now quite seriously bad, but she can remember hundreds of thousands of lines of Shakespeare.
It's incredibly memorable.
I mean, the lines one learnt 20 or 30 years ago are still Are still in there somewhere.
You know, because he's one of our greatest writers and the stuff stays.
I'd be very happy to just go on speaking the words of Shakespeare for the rest of my life.
Although we've nearly reached our mooring, today's work is not yet done, because tomorrow we are to give a performance in honour of Shakespeare, so it's time to rehearse.
On the first night of one production I think that's me, actually.
Oh, yes! Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Can I have your pencil? The touring life, of course, has its dividends.
A student once asked a director whose production of Hamlet was currently touring the country whether he believed the Prince of Denmark actually ever consummated his relationship with Ophelia.
"Oh, yes, certainly".
The director replied.
"Probably in the Nottingham week.
" PRUNELLA LAUGHS to honour the life and work of William Shakespeare, who died here 400 years ago.
Right, we're now coming into actual Stratford.
Yes, you can see all the buses and all the tourism.
Ahead are the 11 locks of the Wilmcote flight.
We have to tackle them before we can reach the canal basin.
Finally, we'll head down the River Avon for a performance at Shakespeare's last resting place.
Both Pru and I performed Shakespeare here in our early years.
I was last playing Stratford before I knew Tim.
You know, like my second job ever.
I was cast in The Merchant of Venice, but it didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped! I think I was rather unhappy when I was here.
I was playing I was playing Nerissa, which is a notoriously difficult part, I think.
And I wasn't young and beautiful.
I wasn't asked back.
I felt rather a failure, I think, my first season here.
But things looked up after that.
I was in Stratford in 1965 as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
It didn't lead to instant stardom for me either.
Coming to Stratford in the days that I first came here, it was a kind of pinnacle of achievement.
If you were in the Stratford company, that was where you wanted to be.
And that's where I wanted to be.
And I got a bit bored that, in the next season, as it was being planned, I wasn't really being promoted.
In fact, I found a secret document, which put all the present company into columns.
The A column was obviously the big stars, Paul Schofield, Janet Suzman, Ian Richardson and so on and B were the sort of leading supporting actors.
But I found myself in D.
And it really upset me and I resigned from the company.
I said I didn't want to be here any more.
Probably a big mistake.
But those early setbacks that we both had to face never diminished our love for Shakespeare, or for Stratford.
First thing you can see as you come round the bend is that rather extraordinary tower.
Yes.
Tourists ahoy! Hello! As we come out of this very low bridge, and suddenly there are the delights of Stratford Upon Avon and Bancroft Basin, where we are going to moor.
Oh, good.
And there's the theatre, look! Yes, there it is! The basin has actually been here for a very long time.
Well back into the early days of the canal, it would have been lined with boats taking goods down to the Avon and beyond, largely beer, beer brewed by the Flowers' brewery.
As far back as Tudor times, brewing was an important business in Stratford, and incidentally, Shakespeare's own father was the town's official ale taster.
By the 19th century, the most successful brewery was run by the Flower family.
In 1875, Charles Flower donated land to build a theatre dedicated to Stratford's most famous son.
The original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opened here in 1879.
There's Shakespeare.
Is it a good likeness? Nobody really knows.
We don't know, do we? Moments from the wharf where Flower's beer was once loaded is the third incarnation of the original theatre.
It's changed a bit since our day, but it's still a place that holds many memories for both of us.
A-ha! Do you remember the old box office? Yes.
I used to hide there, cowering.
On the theatre's new riverside terrace, we're meeting fellow thespian and current member of the RSC, Nadia Albina.
Hello.
Hello.
How are you? Please sit down.
Very well.
Thank you.
Welcome back to the RSC.
Thank you.
So you're playing Nerissa? Yes, I'm playing Nerissa.
A bit of a challenge.
Nerissa is Portia's lady-in-waiting in The Merchant Of Venice, and Nadia has the same part as I did - but separated in time by 59 years.
Do you love your Portia? That's the main thing.
I was very lucky with my Portia, Pru.
I had a lovely Portia.
The Portia was married to my agent.
So I had to be very polite to her.
It's funny you should say that, because I've got some old pictures of you playing Nerissa.
Oh, good heavens! The infamous Nerissa.
You look incredibly beautiful there, Pru.
Oh? Well, I thought I was terribly plain.
I wouldn't say that.
The American producer who sat down said, "You're a wonderful actress.
"Now, what are we going to do about your face? Have you tried surgery?" Oh, my goodness me! Oh, because it was fatround and fat, you know.
I think you look absolutely beautiful there.
I had such a sexy costume.
You did! You had a much sexier costume than I did.
Any favourite lines? My first line.
"You would be, sweet madam, "if your miseries were in the same abundance as your good fortunes are.
"And yet for aught I see they are as sick" ".
.
that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing.
" Lovely.
Lines last said by Pru on stage, in 1956.
But now it's time to get ready for tonight's show.
First, we need to move the boat closer to Holy Trinity Church, where the performance is to take place.
William Shakespeare was laid to rest here 400 years ago.
OK, cast off, will you? We're leaving the canal now and entering the River Avon via the final lock.
As ever, the centre of town is thronging with tourists.
What can I do to entertain them for three and half minutes while we open? Whoa! Here we go.
Bye.
Bye-bye! The church is a quarter of a mile downriver from the RSC, and is Stratford upon Avon's oldest building.
We find a convenient mooring on the opposite bank.
Pruey, come on! I haven't finished my makeup yet.
Come on.
I bet you're all right, really.
Can I have a look? OK.
Oh, splendid! You can make it untidy.
It shows that it's not a made up one.
OK.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
How are you feeling? Nervous, keyed up? Yes.
Ready for it? Well, not really, but there you are.
Good.
It may be just a few readings about Shakespeare, but it's natural to be a little nervy before a show.
I do hope we don't disappoint Stratford's great and good! Places, please.
To be invited to perform beside Shakespeare's tomb, four centuries after his death, is a great honour.
If you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on economy, danced attendance on your lord and master, laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort and too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise, why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are - as good luck should have it - quoting Shakespeare.
If you wish I were dead as a doornail, if you think I'm an eyesore, a laughing stock, a devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, a bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then by Jove! O, Lord! Tut-tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! Tut, but me, no buts! For it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.
Fanny Kemble tells of her experiences touring the southern states of America in the 1830s.
'We both love performing together.
' The play was Romeo And Juliet, the house was extremely full 'And on stage, there is a special bond between us.
' You've broken the poison bottle, haven't you? The corpse nodded.
All men have parts and each man acts his own.
He that denies that theatres should be, he may as well deny a world to me.
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.
And so it is with us.
Well, it's a good place to finish our journey, isn't it? Returning to Stratford by canal has been a very special journey for us.
We may have travelled only a matter of a few miles, but it's helped us both realize .
.
how far we've come in our lives.
It's not been a bad life, has it? I think it's been magic.
Beautiful.
We've been husband and wife for over five decades.
Amazing.
Cheers.
We've been wedded to stage and screen for even longer.
Great hair, Pru.
PRUNELLA LAUGHS But we share another passion canals.
Cast off, please.
Aye aye, sir.
Canals wind through our lives carrying our treasured memories.
Of families growing up.
Of moments of wonder.
And hidden beauty.
Is this the most remote canal we've ever been on? It probably is, yes.
Of love.
And laughter.
Ah! Sorry about that.
Things are a bit harder for me these days.
I'm not strong enough.
But we get by.
We're at the summit.
Hooray! Pru has a slight condition, it does mean she has difficulty remembering things.
Oh, my darling, I'm so sorry! I didn't cast you off.
One has to recognise that Pru's domestic life is getting a little narrower by the day.
Well, it can be a nuisance, but it doesn't stop me remembering how to open a lock gate, or make the skipper a cup of tea.
OK, cast off.
OK.
We'll be exploring new countries.
It's amazing, isn't it? And following new routes.
I'm lost now.
But one thing stays the same We're always together.
Let's stay right here.
So peaceful.
The Stratford Canal runs through lush Warwickshire countryside, to the hometown of our national playwright.
Pru and I, we're words people, and Shakespeare is the perfect wordsmith, the perfect dramatist.
So, we're embarking on a voyage to pay tribute to him.
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
Her memory is now seriously bad, but she can remember hundreds of thousands of lines of Shakespeare.
And in his last resting place We'll put on a performance in his honour.
OK.
OK.
We'll follow one of Britain's most picturesque Magic.
The heart of England.
.
.
and narrow canals.
There's no safety rail on this bridge.
No.
Frightening.
Along the way, we'll recruit some assistance from three generations of the family West PRUNELLA LAUGHS It's a journey that takes us back in time, to when we were both young actors.
There's the theatre, look! Yes, there it is.
And unlocks our deepest memories.
I'm Titania, lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
Who's going to dance? Our journey begins at Kingswood, the Spaghetti Junction of the canal network.
What do you think? Oh, nice.
From here, you can take two separate routes.
To Birmingham, or east to Warwick Right.
Cast off, please, Pruey.
'.
.
or indeed south to Stratford.
' It's a significant year.
2016 is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death.
And, incidentally, 200 years since the opening of this canal.
OK! Off we go to Stratford-upon-Avon, the actor's spiritual home.
I've performed in most of Shakespeare's plays, and played several parts more than once.
Right from the start of my working life, I've played the classics, too.
Shakespeare's language, his poetry, is part of us.
What did Judi Dench call Shakespeare? She and Michael called him, "The man who pays the rent.
" Yes, for many years, he helped pay our bills, too.
Beginning at Kingswood Junction, we'll join the Stratford Canal.
Passing by its unique lock-keeper cottages.
We'll cross England's longest aqueduct, before paying a visit to the home estate of Shakespeare's mother.
Then descending the Wilmcote flight, we'll arrive in Stratford itself.
Finally, we'll pay tribute to the Bard at his last resting place.
They don't leave a lot of room these bridges, do they? No.
Can't see how far away I am from No.
You're You're doing well.
OK, and I Gosh, look at the number of people who've bashed into that bridge.
Frightening.
Am I all right? You're all right at the moment.
Well done, that's it.
Stop, you're straight now.
Excellent.
We won't get lost, will we? No, no, no, no! It's very hard to get lost on these canals.
Well, it has been known.
You can't be talking about me, surely.
Just look for the narrowest canal at Kingswood junction, and that's the Stratford.
LOUD BANG Whoops, no room for mistakes.
We're on the Stratford all right.
There was a lot of financial constraint about building this canal, and so you see a lot of, erm .
.
economies.
In the late 18th century, a plan was devised to extend Stratford's waterways north, towards Birmingham.
But it went badly over budget, and the only way to get the canal finished was to reduce the width of its locks to that of a single narrow boat.
It makes it easier for the crew though, as there's only one gate at either end.
It's all right, I'll do it.
No, it's tough.
What? It's a big one.
It's all right I can do it.
All right.
Yes.
All right.
Yes.
You don't You don't think I'm You go and do the, ermpaddle.
Yes, all right.
There are a lot of locks on this journey.
And Pru's doing very well at the moment, but I don't want her to overtire herself.
And she's quite capable of steering the boat.
So, I think I'm going to take over the locks as a general rule.
But just at the moment, she's finding she likes doing it.
So, I'm going to let her be.
Not too bad.
Today, we have nine locks to tackle, before spending the night at a lock-keeper's cottage at Lowsonford.
Magic.
The heart of England This canal may have been built on the cheap, but that doesn't stop it being rather beautiful.
The Stratford also boasts some rather clever innovations.
These split bridges are a very singular arrangement.
The idea is that the bridges don't lift up, they're permanent.
But you unhitch your leading horse, then you pass the lead over the top.
Right over.
And then you pass it down through the gap here? Yes, here.
Here.
Here.
And reattach it.
Yes.
Saves you time and endless amount of effort.
Yes.
Very brilliant.
Very good idea.
The man responsible for designing this canal was the local landowner and engineer, William James.
Largely forgotten by history, he was in fact one of the great transport innovators of his age.
We're on our way to see Terry Deary, who wrote that marvellous collection of, erm Horrible Histories.
And he's also written extensively about William James Terry, hello.
Very good to see you.
Good to see you.
And thank you for your hospitality.
'.
.
and claims he is one of the greatest unsung 'heroes of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
' William James was really responsible for this canal as we know it today, wasn't he? He certainly was because they built a certain amount of the canal then they ran out of money.
Big recession at the end of the French Revolutionary Wars.
Yes.
And he invested his own money in order to get it finished.
He had to be very parsimonious, which is why you've got this very narrow lock Yeah, yeah.
.
.
single locks, single gates.
And little bridges.
They may be single-lock gates, but they're still rather heavy.
I'll come.
If you move up a bit, I'll start here.
Well done.
Oh, your great strength.
As well as being a pioneering canal builder, William James went on to become one of the founding fathers of Britain's railways.
So, William James wasn't just an engineer, he was a visionary and he designed a rail network for the south of England which is basically what we still use today.
He never stopped thinking.
But his passion for a future rail network throughout Britain made him enemies.
Powerful men who had already invested heavily in the building of canals.
When James started surveying railways, as was his right, they did all sorts of underhand tricks to stop him.
Including violence.
And one of his assistants was stabbed in the back with a pitchfork.
So, James hired a professional boxer to defend him.
But it didn't work.
They beat the boxer up.
Oh, God! It's a great story.
It is.
He can't have been a very good boxer.
We think we know all the great engineers and innovators of Britain's Industrial Revolution.
Stephenson, Brunel, Arkwright and so on.
People remember the giants of Victorian railways as the Stephensons, and James is forgotten.
Extraordinary.
But this This is a worthy memorial, isn't it? This canal.
This is better than any memorial in Westminster Abbey, isn't it? Yeah, yeah.
Sure is.
Goodbye.
Thank you very much indeed.
Take care, bye-bye.
Having said goodbye to Terry, we now have a number of locks to tackle before tonight's mooring, and the sun is already nearing the horizon.
I'm not entirely sure that swapping roles this late in the day is a good idea.
Bit more steam.
Bit more speed.
Oh, help! Pru's a game girl and it's not her fault Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
'.
.
that she's a bit out of practice.
' And I could say the same about my crew! Well.
Doesn't matter.
Pru! We're about to see a bit more of William James's work, a lengthsman's cottage.
Oh, right! Which has been bought by The Landmark Trust and restored faithfully.
And we're going to spend the night there.
It's rather exciting.
Oh, what a treat! Lengthsmen were responsible for keeping a length of canal navigable, as well as lock-keeping duties.
They lived in these unique barrel-roofed cottages, another William James innovation.
Oh, it's lovely, isn't it? Yes! Wow.
Oh, we're staying here! Yeah! Welcome.
Oh! Oh, magic! Oh, Timmy.
Oh, it's a second honeymoon.
Yes.
Wouldn't mind being a lengthsman.
The last lengthsman here was Ned Taylor.
Born in the cottage in 1921, this was his home for nearly 80 years.
What a treat.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Oh, it reminds me of Kempslade.
You know, my parents' house.
Extreme countryside, looking out at the sun going down.
Well, that would have been back in the 1950s, whereas this place feels like it hasn't changed much since the 1850s.
Yes, from another time.
A bit like us.
Speak for yourself! Tuesday, September 29th, the second day of our meander down the South Stratford.
Spent night at lockkeeper's cottage.
Very peaceful.
Just the odd passing duck and a very quiet gongoozler to keep us company.
Reminds Pru of our honeymoon back in the summer of '63.
Tim and I met over the crossword.
We were rehearsing a terrible play called She Died Young, subtitled by the cast, None Too Soon.
And, I think I brought the Guardian with me to rehearsal, so we started doing the crossword together while we were waiting for it to be our turn.
I think it was a crossword flirtation, really.
It's amazing how Pru's long-term memory is as sharp as ever.
I liked him for his mind and his imagination, as much as for his proximity when we were doing the crossword together, you know? Hello! Hello! Welcome, welcome.
Can we come on round? Come on round.
For this next leg of our voyage, we've recruited extra crew in the form of my daughter Juliet, with her daughter Kate and baby Khaya.
Today's journey will take us from Lowsonford through nine locks, past unspoilt Warwickshire countryside to the village of Wootton Wawen.
Cast off, please, Jules.
It's great to have extra hands onboard to tackle the locks, although, for some, it will be a few years before they're ready to wield a windlass.
Quite steep.
So stiff, some of them.
All right, you have a go.
I'll probably be worse than you! THEY LAUGH Good.
Well done.
So, how does it feel having the four generations on here? This is the first time, isn't it? I know, yeah! It's Khaya's first time on a boat on the canal.
BABY EXCLAIMS Hello! You enjoying yourself? "All the world's a stage, "and all the men and women merely players.
"They have their exits and their entrances "and one man in his time plays many parts, "his acts being seven ages.
" We have four of the seven ages of man on board today.
Timothy and me representing the seventh age and then there's young Khaya.
"At first, the infant, "mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
"And then the whining schoolboy, "with his satchel and shining morning face, "creeping like snail unwillingly to school.
"And then the lover, sighing like furnace, "with a woeful ballad made to his mistress' eyebrow.
" Yeah.
THEY LAUGH "And then the soldier, "so full of strange oaths and bearded "like the pared, "jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel, "seeking the bubble reputation "even in the cannon's mouth.
" You're never too young to enjoy a bit of Shakespeare or, indeed, a canal.
Well, welcome.
Well, he is the captain.
Welcome to the life.
He is the captain, yeah.
So what's it like being a great-grandma? Oh, my God.
I don't think I've, sort of, faced it yet.
It's amazing because I never knew my grandparents.
They were black and white photographs, you know, on my parents' dressing table.
Oh, that's such a shame.
So being a great-grandma is just .
.
incredible.
I love it.
I'm very proud.
All the joy and no responsibility.
Yes.
It's such a lovely spot.
It is, isn't it? Yeah.
So quiet.
Can you take the wine as well? Yep.
Shakespeare was two centuries too early to enjoy a picnic beside this canal Got it? Got it.
And the corkscrew.
Between my teeth.
.
.
but I can imagine him enjoying an afternoon like this, with his wife Anne and their family.
I was just talking to Pru about the beautiful countryside here and how many plays he must have written after seeing it all.
He got a lot of inspiration from the countryside in which he lived.
And this is probably what he called the Forest of Arden.
Yeah.
It's a name he made up, but this is used a lot in As You Like It.
Shakespeare's heroine is Rosalind.
Fearing for her life she flees her uncle's court, seeking safety in the Forest of Arden and eventually finding love here too.
I've always wanted to play Rosalind but I wasn't tall enough.
I once played it in a radio version.
Ah! On radio I'm as tall as anything.
She's very tall on! In A Midsummer Night's Dream he writes about the countryside, doesn't he? Mmm.
Very much so.
I remember playing Hermia at school.
Another short part.
Yes.
Titania over there! Ah, yes! That's right.
I'm Titania.
"Lulled in these flowers with dances and delight.
" Who's going to dance? Come on.
"I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, "Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows "Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, "With sweet musk roses and with eglantine: "There sleeps Titania sometime of the night, "Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight; "And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin, "Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.
" Bye-bye, Pru.
Bye-bye, darling.
Mmm.
Mmm.
See you soon.
Bye-bye! Mwah! Bye-bye! Now that Juliet's no longer here to help, I'm taking over lock duties, whilst Pru takes the helm.
So cool it a bit.
What? Cool it a bit.
Well, no, no, no.
Just cool it What? Cool it a bit! Cool it a bit! Yes.
I'm just not used to this boat! I can't see, you see.
I've got steps.
SUDDEN BUMP Oh! Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry.
ANOTHER BUMP Oh, help! Gently over to this side.
What? Gently over to this side cos there's another boat coming.
What? You're just going in a straight line at the moment.
What? Move the tiller right open there, towards you! Otherwise you can't turn.
I can! Pru's struggling under pressure, it can happen to anybody.
Oh, dear.
Right over.
Towards you! Oh, bloody hell! Look out! Look out! LOUD BUMP Sorry.
Sorry! I got trapped by a long tiller.
Never mind, you did it.
We're about to meet Professor Stanley Wells.
You probably know him.
We have met him before.
Yes.
At the Shakespeare Institute.
Yes, yes.
And he's a great authority on Shakespeare.
Could I have a hand? Yes, of course.
Thank you.
Oh! Thanks.
Professor Stanley Wells has done a great deal of research on how Shakespeare drew inspiration from the countryside around Stratford.
I once called him "the first great literary commuter.
" I think he spent a lot of time going between Stratford and London.
Of course, he must have based himself in London because of the theatrical scene there.
Yes.
The theatres closed in Lent and during that period he would have had six weeks in which he could have come back to Stratford, had a nice peaceful time here, meeting his friends and writing his plays.
What were the reasons Shakespeare wanted to come back to Stratford? Well, who wouldn't? If you're in London, streets full of stench, a rather unpleasant place in many ways, the thought that you have a little refuge, back in Stratford, where you can look at the countryside, where you can get inspiration I think Shakespeare was a countryman at heart, in fact, I think, and he writes about country things a great deal in his plays.
So I think there's every reason for him to come up to Stratford, observe the countryside, observe the sheep and the deer that he writes about.
And the natural beauty and the peace would have helped bring out his innermost feelings.
Of course, we know that the most personal of Shakespeare's writing is the sonnets.
Yes.
There are 154 sonnets, published in 1609, and many of those are love poems, some of them very intimate poems, really, poems about the anguish that lust and love can cause, and he was constantly aware, I think, of the tensions between love, idealising love, and physical lust, physical desire.
"Let me not to the marriage of true minds "Admit impediments.
Love is not love "Which alters when it alteration finds, "Or bends with the remover to remove: "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks "Within his bending sickle's compass come; "Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, "But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
" "Love's not Time's fool.
" That's true for us, isn't it? Yes! Yes, to the edge of doom.
Right Cast off, Pruey! OK, Tim! Thank you! .
.
to the last resting place of William Shakespeare.
It's 400 years now since his death, and here we are, voyaging towards Stratford to honour him.
And he's still part of people's lives.
He says something to everybody.
Astonishing.
Leaving Wootton Wawen, the next leg of our journey will take us across England's longest aqueduct to the childhood home of Shakespeare's mother.
And we end the day on the outskirts of his hometown.
We're just about to come to the Edstone Aqueduct.
It was built in 1816 and you could call it a utility aqueduct.
It may have been built to a budget, but at 475 feet long, and maybe 50 feet high, it's still quite grand.
And for Pru, who's never been too keen on heights, rather alarming! There's no safety rail on this bridge! No.
Has anybody fallen over from here? Oh, I expect so, yes.
Frightening! It's quite impressive.
Yes, I know, but very dangerous for passengers on the boat.
The aqueduct was built to cross the former Alcester Railway.
There was once a pipe fitted to the bottom of the aqueduct, so that passing steam trains could replenish their boilers with canal water.
It's a very long way down.
It is, yes.
I don't know exactly how far.
I don't think I want to know.
I'm always a bit relieved getting over an aqueduct like that.
Leaving the 19th century behind, we're heading back in time toward a structure built in the 16th century.
Where are we going? We're going to see Mary Arden's house.
Oh! Shakespeare's Mother.
Mother.
Very important lady.
Over the years, we've both explored Shakespeare's life and work, but there's always more to discover.
I'd like to know a little more, a lot more, really, about how he was in Stratford.
And to get some feel of what the places looked like.
Mary Arden's farm is on the outskirts of Stratford, walking distance from the canal.
Shakespeare's mother lived on this estate over 400 years ago, and today it's once again a working Tudor farm, with all the farm labourers and servants wearing 16th-century costumes.
Bless them.
Hello! Good day, welcome to Mary Arden's farm.
Thank you.
Do come in.
Thank you.
It's lovely, but we know so little about Shakespeare's domestic life.
Our tour begins in a reconstruction of a Tudor dining room.
Well, this is where he would have learned his manners.
I've had quite a few Tudor meals on stage, but I wonder how accurate they were.
I've certainly been involved in scenes of the period where I was expected to tear the food No.
Limb from limb.
No, not good manners, master.
It's not good manners, is it? And very messy! One of the jobs that children had, and it was part of their training, was to learn how to carve meat.
Mmm.
And the meat would have been carved on the sideboard into fair-sized gobbets.
Oh, yes, to put in your gob.
Exactly.
Right.
That's right.
No forks, but sometimes people carried this, which is called a pricker or a pricket.
Yes.
And this was for stabbing things.
Yes.
You couldyes, just hold it down while you cut it.
Or putting it onto your plate and you could cut it.
Yes.
So there would be none of this ripping meat off bones and throwing them over your shoulder.
It was all very dainty and dignified.
Yeah.
It looks like I've been getting it wrong for 60 years.
HAWK SCREECHES In Tudor times, hunting with hawks was the sport of the nobility.
Hoah! Oh, Bravo! Bravo! But despite being only the son of a wool dealer, Shakespeare seems to have had an in-depth knowledge of falconry.
Falconry, of course, was a very important thing in Shakespeare's life, wasn't it? Lots of references.
He mentions falconry in nearly every one of his writings.
Yeah, yeah.
Haggard hawk.
Yes, that's a bird that's been brought in.
Haggard.
And that's where the term old hag came from.
Oh, really? Aha! Right.
It's an older bird, you see.
Bated breath.
This is when you'll actually see a bird that it bates.
Bating is when they jump off the glove.
Bated breath, like he's really excited.
Yes.
That's right, yes.
Are you excited? HAWK SCREECHES I'm the one with bated breath.
And who's this beauty? This is Milly.
Milly is a barn owl.
Hello, Milly.
Also known as the love owl in the Tudor period because of the heart shape on the front of her face.
Yes, of course.
She's beautiful.
You're beautiful.
So, she's a little girl.
Well, Pru, would you like to have a little go of a bird flying to you? Oh! All right.
Lovely.
I'm going to take a little walk up there now.
Yes.
And you're going to hold your hand like that.
And she's Milly? And this is Milly.
All right? Milly! Milly, come on.
Come on.
Come on, Milly.
Good girl.
Hello, good girl! MILLY SCREECHES You're lovely.
Go back.
You're going back.
Pru's always had a way with animals Oh, it's thrilling.
Well done.
It's thrilling.
So, you'd like a barn owl now, wouldn't you? Yes! Well, that was very exciting, wasn't it? Wonderful to be in a place where so much of his language originated.
Yes, and where you can actually see it in action.
Yeah.
I know, I know.
Thrilling.
And yet another reminder of why Shakespeare matters so much to both of us.
Pru and I, we're words people, we love words, we love language.
And Shakespeare is the perfect wordsmith, perfect story-teller.
The perfect dramatist.
Every time I read another bit of Shakespeare, it reveals something Something new about life and .
.
people .
.
and psychology.
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings.
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
It is extraordinary that you know, her memory is really now quite seriously bad, but she can remember hundreds of thousands of lines of Shakespeare.
It's incredibly memorable.
I mean, the lines one learnt 20 or 30 years ago are still Are still in there somewhere.
You know, because he's one of our greatest writers and the stuff stays.
I'd be very happy to just go on speaking the words of Shakespeare for the rest of my life.
Although we've nearly reached our mooring, today's work is not yet done, because tomorrow we are to give a performance in honour of Shakespeare, so it's time to rehearse.
On the first night of one production I think that's me, actually.
Oh, yes! Sorry, sorry, sorry.
Can I have your pencil? The touring life, of course, has its dividends.
A student once asked a director whose production of Hamlet was currently touring the country whether he believed the Prince of Denmark actually ever consummated his relationship with Ophelia.
"Oh, yes, certainly".
The director replied.
"Probably in the Nottingham week.
" PRUNELLA LAUGHS to honour the life and work of William Shakespeare, who died here 400 years ago.
Right, we're now coming into actual Stratford.
Yes, you can see all the buses and all the tourism.
Ahead are the 11 locks of the Wilmcote flight.
We have to tackle them before we can reach the canal basin.
Finally, we'll head down the River Avon for a performance at Shakespeare's last resting place.
Both Pru and I performed Shakespeare here in our early years.
I was last playing Stratford before I knew Tim.
You know, like my second job ever.
I was cast in The Merchant of Venice, but it didn't go quite as well as I'd hoped! I think I was rather unhappy when I was here.
I was playing I was playing Nerissa, which is a notoriously difficult part, I think.
And I wasn't young and beautiful.
I wasn't asked back.
I felt rather a failure, I think, my first season here.
But things looked up after that.
I was in Stratford in 1965 as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
It didn't lead to instant stardom for me either.
Coming to Stratford in the days that I first came here, it was a kind of pinnacle of achievement.
If you were in the Stratford company, that was where you wanted to be.
And that's where I wanted to be.
And I got a bit bored that, in the next season, as it was being planned, I wasn't really being promoted.
In fact, I found a secret document, which put all the present company into columns.
The A column was obviously the big stars, Paul Schofield, Janet Suzman, Ian Richardson and so on and B were the sort of leading supporting actors.
But I found myself in D.
And it really upset me and I resigned from the company.
I said I didn't want to be here any more.
Probably a big mistake.
But those early setbacks that we both had to face never diminished our love for Shakespeare, or for Stratford.
First thing you can see as you come round the bend is that rather extraordinary tower.
Yes.
Tourists ahoy! Hello! As we come out of this very low bridge, and suddenly there are the delights of Stratford Upon Avon and Bancroft Basin, where we are going to moor.
Oh, good.
And there's the theatre, look! Yes, there it is! The basin has actually been here for a very long time.
Well back into the early days of the canal, it would have been lined with boats taking goods down to the Avon and beyond, largely beer, beer brewed by the Flowers' brewery.
As far back as Tudor times, brewing was an important business in Stratford, and incidentally, Shakespeare's own father was the town's official ale taster.
By the 19th century, the most successful brewery was run by the Flower family.
In 1875, Charles Flower donated land to build a theatre dedicated to Stratford's most famous son.
The original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre opened here in 1879.
There's Shakespeare.
Is it a good likeness? Nobody really knows.
We don't know, do we? Moments from the wharf where Flower's beer was once loaded is the third incarnation of the original theatre.
It's changed a bit since our day, but it's still a place that holds many memories for both of us.
A-ha! Do you remember the old box office? Yes.
I used to hide there, cowering.
On the theatre's new riverside terrace, we're meeting fellow thespian and current member of the RSC, Nadia Albina.
Hello.
Hello.
How are you? Please sit down.
Very well.
Thank you.
Welcome back to the RSC.
Thank you.
So you're playing Nerissa? Yes, I'm playing Nerissa.
A bit of a challenge.
Nerissa is Portia's lady-in-waiting in The Merchant Of Venice, and Nadia has the same part as I did - but separated in time by 59 years.
Do you love your Portia? That's the main thing.
I was very lucky with my Portia, Pru.
I had a lovely Portia.
The Portia was married to my agent.
So I had to be very polite to her.
It's funny you should say that, because I've got some old pictures of you playing Nerissa.
Oh, good heavens! The infamous Nerissa.
You look incredibly beautiful there, Pru.
Oh? Well, I thought I was terribly plain.
I wouldn't say that.
The American producer who sat down said, "You're a wonderful actress.
"Now, what are we going to do about your face? Have you tried surgery?" Oh, my goodness me! Oh, because it was fatround and fat, you know.
I think you look absolutely beautiful there.
I had such a sexy costume.
You did! You had a much sexier costume than I did.
Any favourite lines? My first line.
"You would be, sweet madam, "if your miseries were in the same abundance as your good fortunes are.
"And yet for aught I see they are as sick" ".
.
that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing.
" Lovely.
Lines last said by Pru on stage, in 1956.
But now it's time to get ready for tonight's show.
First, we need to move the boat closer to Holy Trinity Church, where the performance is to take place.
William Shakespeare was laid to rest here 400 years ago.
OK, cast off, will you? We're leaving the canal now and entering the River Avon via the final lock.
As ever, the centre of town is thronging with tourists.
What can I do to entertain them for three and half minutes while we open? Whoa! Here we go.
Bye.
Bye-bye! The church is a quarter of a mile downriver from the RSC, and is Stratford upon Avon's oldest building.
We find a convenient mooring on the opposite bank.
Pruey, come on! I haven't finished my makeup yet.
Come on.
I bet you're all right, really.
Can I have a look? OK.
Oh, splendid! You can make it untidy.
It shows that it's not a made up one.
OK.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
How are you feeling? Nervous, keyed up? Yes.
Ready for it? Well, not really, but there you are.
Good.
It may be just a few readings about Shakespeare, but it's natural to be a little nervy before a show.
I do hope we don't disappoint Stratford's great and good! Places, please.
To be invited to perform beside Shakespeare's tomb, four centuries after his death, is a great honour.
If you have played fast and loose, if you have been tongue-tied, a tower of strength, hoodwinked or in a pickle, if you have knitted your brows, made a virtue of necessity, insisted on fair play, slept not one wink, stood on economy, danced attendance on your lord and master, laughed yourself into stitches, had short shrift, cold comfort and too much of a good thing, if you have seen better days or lived in a fool's paradise, why, be that as it may, the more fool you, for it is a foregone conclusion that you are - as good luck should have it - quoting Shakespeare.
If you wish I were dead as a doornail, if you think I'm an eyesore, a laughing stock, a devil incarnate, a stony-hearted villain, a bloody-minded or a blinking idiot, then by Jove! O, Lord! Tut-tut! For goodness' sake! What the dickens! Tut, but me, no buts! For it is all one to me, for you are quoting Shakespeare.
Fanny Kemble tells of her experiences touring the southern states of America in the 1830s.
'We both love performing together.
' The play was Romeo And Juliet, the house was extremely full 'And on stage, there is a special bond between us.
' You've broken the poison bottle, haven't you? The corpse nodded.
All men have parts and each man acts his own.
He that denies that theatres should be, he may as well deny a world to me.
All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time plays many parts.
And so it is with us.
Well, it's a good place to finish our journey, isn't it? Returning to Stratford by canal has been a very special journey for us.
We may have travelled only a matter of a few miles, but it's helped us both realize .
.
how far we've come in our lives.
It's not been a bad life, has it? I think it's been magic.