That the words “Shakespeare’s so hot right now” should open a feature in the London Evening Standard entitled ‘How to Be a Bard Ass’ might be seen by theatre aficionados as a damning sign of the times. A sign that, what with recent star-studded productions of Henry V (Jude Law), Richard II (David Tennant), and Coriolanus (our very own Tom Hiddleston), not to mention Othellos (Adrian Lester) past and King Lears (Simon Russell Beale) yet to come, the Bard has been reduced to a fad.

Shakespeare coming back into fashion? “He never went out!” I hear you cry, brandishing your dog-eared Arden editions. Yet this apparent truism isn’t entirely true: Law, Tennant and Hiddleston are reviving three highly under-performed Shakespearean protagonists, even for the most avid of theatre-goers. That they should be allowing the Bard to piggyback on their celebrity in order to re-engage the general public with the theatre is fantastic.

Indeed, rather than ‘grouching’ that Coriolanus has ‘sold out to teenage girl fans,’ perhaps we ought to be worrying about how exclusive this once mass medium has become. Despite such laudable efforts as the 16-25-year-old Entry Pass, discounted tickets are distributed in painfully limited numbers, and have done little to alter the demographic of theatre-goers; it is rare to attend a performance at the National Theatre without being greeted by a sea of white hair.

This is where Cambridge crucially differs. Despite ADC bar-fly stereotypes, I am continually heartened by the popularity theatre enjoys across all sections of the student body. This is partly a result of the extraordinary glut of theatre we have in Cambridge; with up to fifteen shows in a single week, and occasionally aggressive flyer-ing tactics on the Sidge, it’s almost impossible to avoid.

Because of the vast smorgasbord of shows on offer, it’s also far easier to be spontaneous, to slip off to a late show after a drink. It’s a simple formula: make tickets cheap and easy to come by, theatres accessible and performers (occasionally) your mates, and students will flock in their droves.

It’s also refreshing to live in a town where the local is taken as seriously as the national, even international. It is a credit to the calibre of Cambridge’s thespians that students get as excited about this week’s ADC mainshow as the latest instalment of The Hunger Games. And this term, there’s a lot to get excited about: ETG, The Footlights Spring Revue and Doctor Faustus, to name but a few. In a way that the London stage has yet to replicate, theatre in Cambridge is as popular as ever – long may it remain so.