Anonymous debate at ESU streamed live from London today

The Shakespeare Authorship Debate with Roland Emmerich at the English-Speaking Union (ESU) in London will be streamed live on the ESU website beginning at 7:30 p.m. tonight, according to ESU events manager, Susan Conway. (2:30 p.m. EST, DST in USA)

Conway said 120 people will be in attendance and 20 names are on a waiting list for the program featuring Anonymous director Roland Emmerich, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust chairman Stanley Wells, trust education director Paul Edmondson, and Brunel University School of Arts head William Leahy who will debate the Shakespeare Authorship question. According to the ESU website the motion for debate is: "This House Believes that William Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon wrote the plays and poems attributed to him."

The event is being held in conjunction with Sony Pictures, the ESU and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust at the ESU headquarters at Dartmouth House in London, UK. The event will begin with a reception at 7 p.m. tonight, June 6, 2011. The debate will begin at 7:30 p.m. London time, or 2:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Daylight Savings in the USA. The ESU website says there will be opportunity for audience members to ask questions and make speeches.

Conway said the event is being filmed by Sony Pictures, and she cannot confirm if copies of the film will be available for purchase, but will keep us informed. Conway said the streamed version will continue to be available on the ESU website.

The English-Speaking Union is an international charity founded in 1918 to promote international understanding and friendship through the use of the English language.

Comments about the debate after the event will be posted on Oberon. If you wish to submit a comment, send email to linda.theil at gmail.com.

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