One Man in His Time review: Gently tightening our grip on Shakespeare Weâre sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Save Normal text size â â â ½ Playhouse, March 11 If John Bell is anything to go by, basking in the words of William Shakespeare for 65 years is good for the soul. Exuding a calm generosity of spirit, he spent an hour conveying his singular love for this greatest of writers, artists and perhaps minds. Bell was blessed with school teachers who fostered this obsession â which, in turn, prompted him to act. In his 20s he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company and soon after his return I first encountered him playing Hamlet in Nimrodâs striking âmirrorâ production, before discovering his directing in an equally memorable