Sir Patrick Stewart has taken to Twitter to read a daily Shakespeare sonnet to fans to soothe coronavirus-related worries.
The classically trained actor began last Saturday (March 21) with the Bard’s Sonnet 116.
Following a warm response from fans, Patrick Stewart vowed to start from the very beginning, and read Sonnet 1 on Saturday, Sonnet 2 on Monday, Sonnet 3 yesterday.
“1. I was delighted by the response to yesterday’s posting of Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116, and it has led me to undertake what follows…” the actor began on Sunday.
“When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn’t much) and as she put it in front of me she would say, ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away.’
“How about, ‘A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away’? So… here we go: Sonnet 1.”
2. When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn’t much) and as she put it in front of me she would say, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” How about, “A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away”? So…here we go: Sonnet 1. pic.twitter.com/kDoMNhdqcI
— Patrick Stewart (@SirPatStew) March 22, 2020
Celebrities around the world are turning to social media to broadcast live performances and record public service announcements to encourage their fans to stay home to flatten the curve.
Christine and the Queens has been performing quarantine concerts, Brian May has been giving Queen fans guitar lessons, and several actors have sent out messages urging people to social distance, including Ryan Reynolds and Robert De Niro.
On Monday (March 23), Boris Johnson announced a three-week lockdown across the UK to prevent a further spread, limiting exercise to once per day, and outdoor activities to shopping for essential food and medicine only.
The coronavirus outbreak has affected the film, TV and music industries greatly, delaying movie and album releases and postponing production and gigs in order to limit any further spread.
