AS one of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s leading actors, you’d expect Edward Bennett to be a passionate advocate for the works of the Bard.

And he admits that for modern audiences, connecting with Shakespeare can often be a daunting prospect.

But as the RSC prepares to make a rare journey to Manchester, Edward is convinced that one visit to see either Love’s Labour’s Lost or Much Ado About Nothing will change people’s perceptions about our greatest playwright.

“A lot of the problems people have with Shakespeare stem from school,” said Edward. “You have to remember that the plays were never meant to be read in a classroom, they were meant to be performed. Trying to get into the head of the man who wrote all those words when you’re 13 or 14 and you’ve got so many things going on in your life is not that relevant to you.

“The important thing for us to do is to take the stories as a whole and make them something the audience can own and relate to their own lives.”

Many people struggle with some of the language of Shakespeare but Edward, who has been with the RSC for 12 years, had this reassuring message.

“It’s not about understanding every word,” he said. “There are certain things which I say which I don’t fully understand. But it’s about understanding why the character may be saying it and getting the meaning that’s beyond the words. It’s your duty as an actor to get that across.”

The shows coming to Manchester were first performed at Stratford two years ago to great critical acclaim.

“When we did them at Stratford, we all felt they deserved another life, so to be able to come up to Manchester and see what audiences up there make of them is very exciting for all of us,” said Edward.

Both plays have been set in Edwardian times and take place either side of the First World War.

“The country house setting has got a Downton Abbey element to it,” said Edward. “The stories are very clear, the language is clear and we make them really entertaining. There is a lot of comedy and some parts of both plays are majestically funny.”

Edward, who plays Berowne in Love’s Labours Lost and Benedict in Much Ado, is perhaps best known for being David Tennant’s understudy in Hamlet, who had to take over in arguably Shakespeare’s most famous role when the Doctor Who star suffered a spinal injury in 2008.

As well as working with the RSC he has also been in the National Theatre’s One Man, Two Guvnors.

“Although I grew up near Stratford I didn’t go to see Shakespeare until I was 15.

“The first play I saw was the Cherry Orchard and that was amazing,” he said. “I was in the front row and David Troughton was in it and I remember him spitting out the words and I just thought it was the best thing ever.

“I’d read Shakespeare before I ever saw it performed and to be honest it bored me. Like many teenagers, I didn’t understand it and it made me feel stupid.

“But then when I started doing drama we went to see some Shakespeare being performed and I realised how fantastic it is. It took me a while but I got there.”

Edward is a passionate advocate for getting schoolchildren to live performances.

“The problem with education at the moment is that it is no longer necessary to go to the theatre to do drama, you can watch it on the telly or DVD.

“You no longer have to see it performed live which to me is abhorrent.

“We had a teacher bring a group of eight year olds to the show and they absolutely loved it - Shakespeare needs to be seen live, it is so rewarding.

“As an actor, the best thing is when the sweet wrapper opening and the whispering stops and the audience is in the story and they care about the story.

“There’s something magical about that, providing something useful for them in their life and hopefully creating an audience for future shows.”

The RSC presents Love’s Labour’s Lost and Much Ado About Nothing, Manchester Opera House, Wednesday, November 23 to Saturday, December 3. Details from 0844 871 3018