On 23 April the world celebrated the birthday of William Shakespeare, a man famous for the plays he wrote nearly 500 years ago. At 7am on Saturday, the Artistic Director of Winchester’s Blue Apple Theatre stood outside The Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon with his racing bike, holding in one hand a golden crown, on loan from The Royal Shakespeare Company. Richard Conlon challenged himself to take this crown to Winchester by bike to the actor destined to play Macbeth in Blue Apple’s July production. And so began a long day. At 57, such a long ride in one day was certainly a challenge for Richard and by 130 kilometres he was feeling the strain, reporting in: “We’re doing well but it's tiring!” He kept going and arrived outside Theatre Royal Winchester for the coronation just before 7pm.

The actor wearing the crown is Lawrie Morris (below centre) who has been performing with Blue Apple since 2009. Having previously played Lysander in Blue Apple’s performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and, a few years later, Claudius in Hamlet, Lawrie is delighted to now have the chance to play his favourite Shakespeare character, saying: “I have actually seen quite a lot of versions of Macbeth. I think the best thing about Macbeth is that it’s very moving, it’s a tragedy.”

Richard’s cycle ride was not only a mission to deliver a crown but also to raise funds for a production that will showcase the talents and passions of performers with a learning disability and give Blue Apple's cast the chance to step on stage with the professional support of a creative team of set and lighting design, audio/visual artists, musician and costume designer.

Blue Apple supports performers who have learning disabilities to act, dance, sing and make films to a high standard - opportunities often denied to them in everyday life. We thank everyone who has already given. So far £1,467 has been raised. To donate go to:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/richard-conlon7