Inspired by a Sonnet...

Weary with toil, I haste me to my bed,
The dear repose for limbs with travel tired;
But then begins a journey in my head,
To work my mind, when body's work's expired:
For then my thoughts (from far where I abide)
Intend a zealous pilgrimage to thee,
And keep my drooping eyelids open wide,
Looking on darkness which the blind do see:
Save that my soul's imaginary sight
Presents thy shadow to my sightless view,
Which, like a jewel hung in ghastly night,
Makes black night beauteous and her old face new.
Lo, thus, by day my limbs, by night my mind,
For thee, and for myself, no quiet find.

Writer Ray Brooking on Sonnet 27

"Although I was excited by the opportunity to reinterpret one of the bard’s works in a contemporary setting, it was also a challenge. I struggled when studying Shakespeare at A level, so trying to analyse his sonnets was initially a little like going back to school. However, once I was able to understand the themes of the verse, I realised that I had found a timeless story that would be perfect for an episode of Doctors.

"I chose Sonnet 27 because I was fascinated by the idea of obsessive love. I turned the verse into the story of someone so haunted by a lost love that he’s become seduced by his dreams. But as his night time fantasies leach into his waking hours, the desperate man’s life starts to unravel, with dangerous consequences.

"I can’t pretend that the experience has transformed me into any kind of expert in Shakespeare, but perhaps I won’t view my dog-eared copy of his collected works with such schoolboy fear anymore."