London Celebrates Shakespeare with plays, exhibitions and more!
In this Olympic year London is commemorating one of its most famous inhabitants – and no, I don’t mean Charles Dickens. In July, to coincide with the Games, the British Museum is hosting a major exhibition, Shakespeare: Staging the World, looking at the life and times of England’s greatest dramatist; but before then the general celebration of all things Shakespearean kicks off with a play by Edward Bond at the Young Vic Theatre, near London’s Soutbank. Bingo may not sound like it has anything to do with the Bard, but trust me, it does. Patrick Stewart – yes, Captain Jean Luc Picard of the Starship Enterprise himself, and no mean Shakespearean actor – plays the ageing Shakespeare after his return to Stratford from a successful career on and around the London Stage. The show runs from February 16th to March 31st – http://www.youngvic.org/whats-on/bingo.
Another famous Shakespearean actor, Simon Callow, returns with his one man show, Being Shakespeare, at the Trafalgar Studios, off Trafalgar Square. Callow earned great applause recreating William’s life through passages from the plays and snatches and glimpses of the elusive man himself from contemporary accounts. The performance is stunning, and you can catch it for a limited season from March 8th to 31st, prior to its transfer to New York – http://www.beingshakespeare.com/.
On April 23rd, the man’s birthday, The World Shakespeare Festival is launched with versions of his plays from Baghdad to Tokyo, as well as home-grown productions from the Globe and the RSC, hosted by many of London’s most important theatre spaces. Events run throughout the summer until September – see http://www.worldshakespearefestival.org.uk/
While you about it, why not book yourself onto Context’s very own tour, From Shakespeare to the Globe: the Evolution of Theatre in London and gain an insight into the man and his times, in the context of four hundred years of theatre and theatre-going in Britain’s capital city.
Posted by Petulia
Petulia is the head of European Operations at Context. She shares her time between Rome, Paris and London. Her passions are fashion and food.
February 10th, 2012 under Books & Literature, History, London, Special Events.
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