London (EFE).- The Spanish actress Bea Segura (Barcelona, 1975) establishes herself as an outstanding interpreter of William Shakespeare (1564-1616) after chaining two leading roles in the London theater dedicated to the bard, where she now plays Hermiona in a new version of “The Winter’s Tale”.
Segura welcomes EFE backstage at Shakespeare’s Globe shortly before the evening’s performance, where she will shine as a passionate queen of Sicily in the fast-paced and somewhat chaotic show directed by Sean Holmes, on until April 16.
Previously, between May and October 2022, she was Catherine of Aragon in a wild and groundbreaking reimagining of “Henry VIII” by director Amy Hodge. The solid interpretation of her earned him that Holmes counted on her again.
“I find myself in a unique situation, I am very grateful”, declares the actress of series such as the Catalans “El Cor de la Ciutat” and “Moebius”; “Benidorm” for Atresmedia or “Midas’ Favorites” for Netflix.
In a room of the emblematic circular open-air building that emulates Shakespeare’s Elizabethan theater -originally located a few meters away-, Segura details the challenge of approaching the work of the famous playwright.
“Shakespeare is an author who carries a very special study. When you enter his world, in his way of expressing himself and in his universal way of telling the great emotions of the human being, it is already complex, but also in English and in old English, it has its own particular challenge”, he explained to EFE.
First, you have to memorize that language and then recite it “with the musicality of the verse,” continues the artist, who points out that the Globe “has a team of wonderful people who help you with the text.”
“The Winter’s Tale”
“The Winter’s Tale” tells the story of Leontes, king of Sicily, and his wife Hermiona, whose lives he destroys and that of other characters due to his unfounded jealousy that she had a relationship with his friend Polixenes, king from Bohemia.
Segura says that she has tried to create a modern heroine, who is also distinguished by her slight “exotic” Latin accent.
“She is a woman who does not expect what is going to happen to her, this madness in which her husband falls. Then, what is also very modern in ‘Winter’s Tale’ is that everyone treats him like a tyrant but nobody rises up, and in this we can see examples of today, of politicians who are doing real barbarities and nobody of his environment is capable of stopping them”, he declared to EFE.
Segura’s time at Shakespeare’s Globe, which she hopes will be repeated, coincides with the 400th anniversary of the publication in 1623 of the so-called First Folio, the first printed edition of a compilation of the work of the poet born in Stratford-upon- Avon (central England).
Although she now claims to have a “Shakespearean” heart, the Barcelona actress is equally excited about her upcoming projects, which include a role in the Antena 3 series “Beguinas” alongside Amaia Aberasturi and Yon González.