Welcome to episode 4 of ‘Why Shakespeare’, a podcast in which I ask people why they like Shakespeare, why they devote their lives to it, why they learn it by heart and write books about it and donate a million pounds to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to restore one of its houses… Well, you will have guessed it – my guest today is a big, big Shakespeare fan. I was lucky to be able to work with the American playwright Ken Ludwig on several shows, and he kindly took time out of his very busy schedule to talk to me about Shakespeare. This was recorded in September 2024 in a dressing room in the Lowry, in Salford, when we were opening his play ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’