A project documenting the World Shakespeare Festival, the greatest celebration of Shakespeare the world has ever seen.
The Hollow Crown brings together four filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s History Plays – Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and Henry V. Starting in the year 1399, this continuous story of monarchy follows events during sixteen years of dynastic and political power play. Kings, with their families and followers, are threatened by rebellion Full Article…
The Hollow Crown brings together four filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s History Plays – Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and Henry V. Starting in the year 1399, this continuous story of monarchy follows events during sixteen years of dynastic and political power play. Kings, with their families and followers, are threatened by rebellion Full Article…
The Hollow Crown brings together four filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s History Plays – Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and Henry V. Starting in the year 1399, this continuous story of monarchy follows events during sixteen years of dynastic and political power play. Kings, with their families and followers, are threatened by rebellion Full Article…
The Hollow Crown brings together four filmed adaptations of Shakespeare’s History Plays – Richard II, Henry IV parts 1 and 2, and Henry V. Starting in the year 1399, this continuous story of monarchy follows events during sixteen years of dynastic and political power play. Kings, with their families and followers, are threatened by rebellion Full Article…
The Vakhtangov, on the Arbat, is at the heart of Moscow both geographically and theatrically. From humble beginnings in 1913, this company, which began in basements and front rooms, grew to inhabit one of Moscow’s most beautiful theatres. Always following the twin influences of Meyerhold and Stanislavsky, of spectacle and psychological truth, it has created Full Article…
The National Theatre of Greece are no strangers to London: Dimitris Rondiris’ productions of Hamlet and Electra played at His Majesty’s Theatre in 1939, and the company was a regular in the World Theatre Seasons at Aldwych in the 1960s and 1970s. Like Pericles, they have finally returned – with twelve of Greece’s leading actors Full Article…
Where else but from Rome for Julius Caesar? In a sparse new translation by prizewinning playwright Vincenzo Manna, Andrea Barraco’s Julius Caesar is set in a dreamlike yet contemporary Rome. The production opened in the ancient, haunting theatre in Gualtieri in the north of Italy, and will perform at the prestigious Teatro di Roma prior Full Article…
Macbeth is a hero. He and his friend Banquo, returning from battle, are met by three Witches who prophesy that Macbeth will become King. Macbeth confides in his wife and together they plot to murder King Duncan while he is sleeping in Macbeth’s castle. As Macbeth’s guilt and paranoia about his power grows, his acts Full Article…
Nikita Milivojevic has directed in Sweden, the USA, and Greece and is the former Artistic Director of the celebrated BITEF festival – the most significant cultural forum in modern Serbia. He makes his debut in the UK with this thrilling drama of political scheming and military heroics. Playing at The Globe, London.
Since the early days of the new republic, the National Theatre of Albania has opened its repertoire to foreign plays, and experimented with forbidden authors. In the past twenty years they have performed plays from Albania and elsewhere to wide acclaim. Director Adonis Filipi will direct Shakespeare’s great meditation on riot and rebellion. Playing at The Full Article…
The third part of the Balkan trilogy is infused with live music, as traditional Macedonian songs punctuate the bloody action. This grand drama of civil war is given new life for the Globe by the National Theatre of Bitola, who staged the first play in the Macedonian language following the liberation of the country from Full Article…
Shakespeare has always had a strong influence in the Caucasus, and nowhere more powerfully than in Armenia. Poets, playwrights, actors and audiences have all lived and worked within his generous shade, and he has proven an enduring symbol of freedom in times of oppression. Many great actors and directors have emerged from Armenia to go Full Article…
Belarus Free Theatre was founded in March 2005 by husband and wife team Nicolai Khalezin and Natalia Kaliada, and joined by Vladimir Scherban. Their performances in Belarus are held secretly, in small private apartments, the location of which, due to the risk of persecution, must constantly be changed. Despite suffering every form of intimidation and Full Article…
One of the most revered theatres in Georgia, itself one of the world’s great theatre cultures, the Marjanishvili, founded in 1928, appears regularly at theatre festivals all over the world. This new production of As You Like It is helmed by the company’s Artistic Director Levan Tsuladze (founder of the Basement Theatre in Tbilisi), known Full Article…
By translating the rich, pun-riddled text of Love’s Labour’s Lost into the physical language of BSL, Deafinitely Theatre create a new interpretation of Shakespeare’s comedy, accessible to theatre goers of all backgrounds. Deafinitely, who have worked at the Soho Theatre and the Tricycle Theatre, aim to build a bridge between deaf and hearing worlds by Full Article…
In 1533, the Spanish were enraged by Catherine of Aragon’s divorce from Henry VIII. Eighty years later, Shakespeare engaged with the subject in his last play. Now four hundred years later, Rakata, Madrid’s premier young classical company, re-imagine this play from a Spanish perspective, with the thrilling clarity they bring to their productions of Spanish Full Article…
In 1993 bremer shakespeare company performed The Merry Wives of Windsor on the building site of the Globe Theatre. They have staged over 40 Shakespeare productions in their home on the western bank of the Weser in Bremen, and have toured throughout Europe and Asia. Nineteen years after The Merry Wives, they return with a Full Article…
In the Cartoucherie de Vincennes outside Paris, sits a bold and enterprising venue, the Théâtre de la Tempête. Clément Poirée’s Hypermobile company are one of the principal groups who give this theatre its impressive reputation. Poirée’s new production, running at la Tempête in winter 2011, is a bittersweet take on Much Ado About Nothing, set Full Article…
Legendary Lithuanian director Eimuntas Nekrosius’ Hamlet is one of the most celebrated Shakespearean productions of our age. It has toured the world and is now coming to London for the first time. Nekrosius’ work, universally regarded as a new chapter in theatre history, engages with the sheer diversity of human nature, at once funny and Full Article…
The Globe to Globe festival closes with a production of Shakespeare’s spine-tingling masterpiece of the turbulence of war, and the art of peace. The play which opened both the first and the new Globe with the words ‘O, for a Muse of fire…’ celebrates the power of English, or any other language, to summon into Full Article…
On 22 April The Globe opened its doors for a free open day. 29 performers recited Shakespeare’s sonnets in over 30 different languages whilst an international food market tempted the tastebuds. Playing at The Globe, London.
Shakespeare’s joyful comedy of mistaken identity follows the fortunes of two sets of identical twins, accidentally separated at birth, then miraculously thrown together again. In a town the size of Ephesus, events like these can only lead to confusion. Directed by Amir Nizar Zuabi, The Comedy of Errors plays in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Full Article…
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Prospero is usurped from his position as Duke of Milan and cast away with his daughter to a remote island. Twelve years later, and intent on revenge, he raises a magical tempest that shipwrecks his enemies on his shores. What begins as a search for retribution develops into a journey of acceptance and compassion in Full Article…
Shipwrecked on the shores of a strange land, Viola believes her twin brother Sebastian drowned. Disguising herself as a boy to work in the court of Count Orsino, she finds herself a go-between for the man she serves and the woman who refuses to love him. Directed by David Farr, Twelfth Night plays in the Full Article…
Written for ages 11+, I,Cinna (The Poet) is Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar told through the eyes of a jiggling fool. Cinna asks the young audience to consider the relationship between words and actions, art and politics, self and society. During the performance he will ask students to write poems with him: small poems on big themes. Full Article…
The dictator must be assassinated. But who will replace him? Shakespeare’s great political thriller, Julius Caesar, finds dark, contemporary echoes in modern Africa, directed by RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran. Gregory’s most recent productions include Shakespeare’s ‘lost play’ Cardenio, re-imagined as part of the RSC’s 50th birthday celebrations, as well as his 2008 production Full Article…
King John’s claim to the throne is challenged by France, which threatens war unless he steps aside in favour of his nephew, Arthur. A bitter, political struggle ensues as a weakened King clings to power, no matter what the cost. Maria Aberg has directed for the Royal Court, RSC, Soho Theatre and Southwark Playhouse. Her Full Article…
This vibrant and colourful production transposes Shakespeare’s vivacious, and at times unsettling, comedy of love and deceit to an Indian setting. Much Ado About Nothing is directed by Iqbal Khan whose credits include Broken Glass (Tricycle Theatre, 2011) and The Killing of Sister George (Arts Theatre, 2011). Actress, comedienne, writer and singer, Meera Syal, will Full Article…
Power-hungry Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots, manipulates and murders his way to the throne in Shakespeare’s brilliant expose of this infamous monarch. Roxana Silbert directs a company of actors, who will also perform A Soldier In Every Son – An Aztec Trilogy. Formerly Artistic Director of Paines Plough Theatre Company, she is Artistic Director (Designate) Full Article…
Ben Power weaves together the words of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in a touching story of two lovers. Familiar lines echo through a story that celebrates the timelessness of Shakespeare’s language, in a beautiful and heartbreaking world where hope triumphs over all. Kathryn Hunter revisits the role with director Helena Kaut-Howson that she created for Full Article…
Shakespeare’s magical, shape-shifting play. From Russia comes the world premiere of Dmitry Krymov’s interpretation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Dmitry Krymov is a director, artist and designer whose visually stunning productions have established him as one of the most original directorial voices of his generation. Expect his take on Shakespeare’s most magical of comedies to Full Article…
The theatre company Stan’s Cafe are bringing 989kg of rice to the RSC, a grain for everyone in the country. An array of local and global human statistics will be weighed out in rice and arranged in labelled piles by a team of auditors.The work will evolve and respond to real time events, news and Full Article…
A new and exciting collaboration between amateur theatre makers and the RSC’s professional creative and production teams. Pericles will see a cast of amateur performers working with RSC directors, designers, stage managers and technicians to create an exhilarating new production of Shakespeare’s tragic romance. Pericles is part of What Country Friends Is This? together with Full Article…
Shakespeare’s tragic poem The Rape of Lucrece, a terrible tale of lust, rape and politics, is both beautiful and violent. From political chronicle to sexual thriller, the poem’s exquisite tragedy is fully revealed in an hypnotic evening of song and storytelling. In this compelling and provocative performance by the internationally acclaimed singer Camille O’Sullivan, with Full Article…
Verdi’s last masterpiece receives a lavish new production for Covent Garden under director Robert Carsen, as the portly knight of Shakespeare’s comedy takes to the stage, larger than life. The fast-paced wit of the action, with its jealousy, intrigue, confusion and comic chaos is set to music of the most consummate invention. With a bravura Full Article…
Elijah Moshinsky’s masterly production first seen in 1987 provides the frame for Verdi’s 1887 tragic operatic battle between good and evil. Otello was the immediate predecessor to Verdi’s last opera Falstaff and reflects Verdi’s great affinity for Shakespeare in all his dramatic variety. Few composers have ventured to make a musical version of so highly Full Article…
For many of Shakespeare’s most tragic characters, love represents not an ascent into heavenly bliss, but a descent into hellish despair. So it’s fitting that Brazilian director Renato Rocha will be staging his exploration of Shakespeare’s most painful and poignant moments deep in the Dorfman Hub space beneath the Roundhouse. This unique underground space will Full Article…
Michael Attenborough, Artistic Director of London’s Almeida Theatre, brings Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy to the intimacy of the Almeida stage. As Lear asks each of his daughters to profess their love for him, he is flattered by the false hyperbole of Regan and Goneril. When his youngest daughter, Cordelia, confesses to love him simply as a Full Article…
Wealthy friend to the rich and powerful, patron of the arts, ostentatious host, Timon of Athens showers gifts and hospitality on the city’s elite. He vastly outspends his resources but, finding his coffers empty, reassures his loyal steward that all will be well. When he calls upon his erstwhile associates, instead of offering help, they Full Article…
This exciting exhibition, supported by BP and in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, will combine amazing objects with contemporary performance, uniquely illustrating the emerging role of London as a world city 400 years ago through the innovative perspective of Shakespeare’s plays. Showing at the British Museum, London.
A spectacularly visual interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedy. Set in a contemporary and brutal middle-eastern conflict, 2008: Macbeth is unflinching in its depiction of the machine of violence. With spectacular pyrotechnics, immersive video effects and an extraordinary soundscape, Shakespeare’s political play is transformed into a contemporary living theatrical film. Playing at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The story of Coriolanus is re-imagined in an era of 24-hour news, celebrity culture and a new global polity. With outside broadcasts from the battlefield, grievances delivered straight to camera and audience participants, this production is a mash-up of previous attempts to get to grips with a contrary and perplexing figure. Venue in South Wales, Full Article…
An ambitious textual and visual deconstruction of Hamlet, interweaving performance, film and installation to create a vigorous new interpretation that cuts to the heart of the play. Meditative and dreamlike in quality, the hallmark of dreamthinkspeak’s productions, The Rest is Silence will be performed within a specially designed and multilayered structure, allowing the action to Full Article…
A stunning, full-scale production of Bernstein’s West Side Story with bold, new choreography by Will Tuckett. Also directed by Will Tuckett, West Side Story is conducted by renowned conductor and musical director John Wilson. The cast will feature the very best in exciting new and emerging talent, from professionals at the outset of their musical Full Article…
On a remote island, in the depth of sleep, a storm is brewing. After years of preparation, Prospero whips up the waves of destruction on a passing fleet. But providence turns tragedy to comedy as the motley shipwrecked crew trudge their way around the island to face their fate. Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, under Arwel Gruffydd’s Full Article…
With a cast of English and Catalan actors, Forests is an original play inspired by Shakespeare’s references to forests throughout his work and is a Dante-esque journey through life, paradise, hell, truth and lies. Inspired by Timon Of Athens, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, Macbeth, As You Like It and the “forest”… a place Full Article…
A brand new wonderland and a total theatre experience for children aged 2 to 4, their families and friends. Inspired by The Winter’s Tale, Oily Cart take young audiences on a voyage of discovery through the landscapes of Shakespeare’s imagination and the music of his language. The adventure begins in the woolly pastures of the Full Article…