ACTING legend Sir Derek Jacobi, a star of both the stage and screen, has a short pre-Christmas tour talking about his career, with two local dates, at Bath Theatre Royal on Friday 28th November and Bristol’s Redgrave Theatre on Sunday 30th, both at 2pm.

The event will feature insights, memories of appearing in countless Shakespeare plays and stories from his life and work. He will be in conversation with actor and director, Richard Clifford, a rare opportunity for audiences to enjoy a special relationship, as Richard is also Derek’s partner, and has been since the 1970s.

Sir Derek Jacobi, who is particularly renowned for his work at the Royal National Theatre, has BAFTA, Olivier, Emmy, Screen Guild and Tony awards. He was knighted for his services to theatre by Queen Elizabeth II – not bad for a boy who grew up in Essex, the son of a corner shop owner and a secretary. It was a long and dramatic journey from Leytonstone and the Leyton Players to Hamlet at the Edinburgh Fringe, a scholarship to Cambridge, starring roles at many of the country’s biggest and most prestigious theatres and television stardom in countless shows, including the much-loved Last Tango in Halifax.

With peers such as Ian McKellen and Trevor Nunn, Derek Jacobi was a founding member of the National Theatre. He is an actor of infinite versatility with Shakespeare running through his blood – he has starred in almost every Shakespearian play, notably in Hamlet and Othello.

Over six decades, his career on screen – television and film – has ranged from I, Claudius to Gladiator, The Crown to The Day of the Jackal, Nanny McPhee to Gosford Park and The King’s Speech. His audio book work includes The Night Garden for the BBC children’s series.

Richard Clifford is an actor and director, who has appeared in films including Much Ado About Nothing, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Frankenstein and Murder on the Orient Express, all directed by Kenneth Branagh, as well as TV such including The Crown and It’s A Sin. Theatre credits include Amadeus at Chichester and Henry V in the West End. For more than 20 years, he has directed productions at Washington’s Folger Shakespeare Theatre.