I, Malvolio

Writer-performer Tim Crouch has made a career out of reinventing theatre. In his two-person play, An Oak Tree, his parade of different co-stars had no idea what the show was about, even as they stepped onto the stage. In The Author, four actors sat in the audience telling disturbing stories, to examine the nature of spectatorship. His popular I, Shakespeare plays are interactive monologues that give secondary characters their own voices. This month, Crouch brings I, Malvolio to Beijing.

Crouch began as an actor but liked his own work better than other writers' and for 11 years has performed nothing but. 'Writing is the hardest thing, because you start with nothing,' he says. 'In a way, the acting is the easy bit. But writing allows acting to exist, and the writing exists after the performance is over.' His I, Shakespeare series features such supporting players as Peaseblossom (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and Banquo (Macbeth). The series not only allows minor characters to have their say, but introduces Shakespeare's people as flawed, human and recognisable.

'Shakespeare does not belong in a museum,' he says. 'His plays speak to how we live today, and his characters are early archetypes for how we see ourselves.' He calls Twelfth Night's Malvolio an authority figure, a pleasure hater, a religious bigot and a disciplinarian. 'It's good for modern young audiences to know these kinds of people have always existed,' he says. 'My intention with I, Malvolio is to honour Shakespeare but also to make his stories accessible. You don't need to know Twelfth Night to enjoy I, Malvolio, but I hope you will get a sense of Shakespeare's humanity.'

Address: Capital Theater, 22 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng district, Beijing

Admission 50-280RMB

Date Sat 08 Nov - Sun 09 Nov

Time 7.30pm-9.30pm