TITLE COMPANY LOCATION DATES PAGE VENUE PRODUCTIONS 2007: MACBETH TR WARSZAWA EDINBURGH 10 AUGUST - 27 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL 2 SEPTEMBER THE COMEDY OF ERRORS ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 16 MARCH - 14 MAY 4 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE 16 JULY - 6 OCTOBER LONDON 1 JUNE - 4 JULY 18 ROUNDHOUSE CORIOLAN/US NATIONAL THEATRE WALES BRIDGEND AUGUST 26 DRAGON FILM STUDIOS CYMBELINE NINAGAWA COMPANY / BARBICAN LONDON 29 MAY - 2 JUNE 16 BARBICAN THEATRE THE DARK SIDE OF LOVE ROUNDHOUSE COMPANY / LIFT LONDON 25 JUNE - 8 JULY 19 ROUNDHOUSE DESDEMONA BARBICAN LONDON JULY 16 BARBICAN HALL FORESTS BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE / BIRMINGHAM 31 AUGUST - 25 OLD REP THEATRE BARCELONA INTERNACIONAL TEATRE 15 SEPTEMBER GLOBE TO GLOBE SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE LONDON 23 APRIL - 3 JUNE 14 & 15 SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE I, CINNA (THE POET) ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 13 JUNE - 6 JULY 10 SWAN THEATRE IN A PICKLE OILY CART / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 23 MAY - 17 JUNE 10 SWAN ROOM ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY LONDON 19 - 23 JUNE 17 STRATFORD CIRCUS NEWCASTLE / GATESHEAD 27 - 30 JUNE 25 NORTHERN STAGE JULIUS CAESAR ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 28 MAY - 7 JULY 9 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE NEWCASTLE / GATESHEAD 19 - 28 JULY 25 NEWCASTLE THEATRE ROYAL KING JOHN ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 6 APRIL - 15 SEPTEMBER 7 SWAN THEATRE KING LEAR ALMEIDA THEATRE LONDON 31 AUGUST - 21 ALMEIDA THEATRE 3 NOVEMBER MACBETH: LEÏLA AND BEN - ARTISTES, PRODUCTEURS, ASSOCIÉS LONDON 4 - 7 JULY 21 LIFT AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS A BLOODY HISTORY NEWCASTLE / GATESHEAD 12 - 14 JULY 24 NORTHERN STAGE A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM CHEKHOV INTERNATIONAL STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 10 - 18 AUGUST 12 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE (AS YOU LIKE IT) THEATRE FESTIVAL / EDINBURGH 10 AUGUST - 27 EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL DMITRY KRYMOV’S LABORATORY / 2 SEPTEMBER SCHOOL OF DRAMATIC ART THEATRE MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 26 JULY - 15 SEPTEMBER 11 THE COURTYARD THEATRE OPEN STAGES ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 13 - 22 JULY 28 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON PERICLES ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY LONDON 5 & 19 ROUNDHOUSE PILOT NIGHT PILOT / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 12 JULY 13 THE COURTYARD THEATRE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY THE REST IS SILENCE dreamthinkspeak BRIGHTON 5 - 27 MAY 26 BRIGHTON FESTIVAL LONDON 12 - 23 JUNE 20 LIFT AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS NEWCASTLE / GATESHEAD 26 - 30 JUNE 24 NORTHERN STAGE RICHARD III ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 22 MARCH - 6 SWAN THEATRE 15 SEPTEMBER ROMEO AND JULIET IN BAGHDAD IRAQI THEATRE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 26 APRIL - 5 MAY 8 SWAN THEATRE LONDON 28 - 30 JUNE 20 LIFT AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS A SOLDIER IN EVERY SON – NATIONAL THEATRE OF MEXICO / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 29 JUNE - 28 JULY 7 SWAN THEATRE AN AZTEC TRILOGY ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY THE TEMPEST ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 30 MARCH - 19 MAY 5 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE 13 JULY – 7 OCTOBER LONDON 9 JUNE - 5 JULY 19 ROUNDHOUSE A TENDER THING ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 27 SEPTEMBER - 13 SWAN THEATRE 20 OCTOBER TIMON OF ATHENS NATIONAL THEATRE LONDON FROM JULY 17 OLIVIER THEATRE TROILUS AND CRESSIDA THE WOOSTER GROUP / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 3 - 18 AUGUST 12 SWAN THEATRE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY TWELFTH NIGHT ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 8 MARCH - 15 MAY 4 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE 12 JULY - 6 OCTOBER LONDON 5 JUNE - 5 JULY 18 ROUNDHOUSE TWO ROSES FOR RICHARD III COMPANHIA BUFOMECÂNICA / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 7 - 12 MAY 8 THE COURTYARD THEATRE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY LONDON 18 - 23 MAY 18 ROUNDHOUSE WEST SIDE STORY SAGE GATESHEAD / NEWCASTLE / GATESHEAD 4 - 7 JULY 24 THE SAGE GATESHEAD ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S OPEN STAGES EXHIBITIONS LIVING WALLS SQUIDSOUP STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 21 APRIL - 9 SEPTEMBER 13 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE SHAKESPEARE: STAGING THE WORLD BRITISH MUSEUM LONDON 19 JULY - 25 NOVEMBER 22 BRITISH MUSEUM THE STORIES OF SHAKESPEARE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY / STRATFORD-UPON-AVON 21 APRIL - 31 DECEMBER 13 ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE / THE SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST TRUST PROPERTIES CONFERENCES WORLDS TOGETHER TATE MODERN / BRITISH MUSEUM / LONDON 6 - 8 SEPTEMBER 23 CLORE LEARNING CENTRE, TATE MODERN NATIONAL THEATRE / ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ONLINE MY SHAKESPEARE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY ONLINE 2012 29 WORLDSHAKESPEAREFESTIVAL.ORG.UK BOOKING INFORMATION 31

Key = Exact dates to be announced. Please see www.worldshakespearefestival.org.uk or individual venue websites for more information. STRATFORD-UPON-AVON LONDON

The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Shakespeare as the world’s playwright, produced by the Paralympic Movements. The culmination of the Cultural Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival. We are delighted collaboration with leading UK and international arts to have the World Shakespeare Festival as part of it; we organisations and with Globe to Globe, a major international thank the Olympic Lottery Distributor and Arts Council programme produced by Shakespeare’s Globe. England as principal funders and welcome BP, already a NEWCASTLE/GATESHEAD Premier Partner of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Ruth Mackenzie Festival, as the Founding Presenting Partner. Director of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival BIRMINGHAM

Shakespeare is no longer English property. He is the These artists, home-grown and from abroad, will push the favourite playwright and artist of the whole world, boundaries of performance, and refl ect the cultural shifting and studied at school by half the world’s children. of our contemporary world, through Shakespeare’s plays that speak across geographies and generations. People of all races, creeds and continents have chosen to gather around his work to share stories of what it is like to The RSC is contributing a dozen new productions of its own.

be human. To fall in love or fall from grace. To be subject to Some refl ect the rich mix of cultures within British society; BRIDGEND the abuse of power or to live with the dreams of angels in the some are co-productions with international companies and shadow of our own mortality. some explore non-theatre spaces and new journeys for our audiences. The World Shakespeare Festival celebrates this most international of artists at a time when the eyes of the world With Open Stages we celebrate the UK’s great are on London, that most international of cities, and on the amateur performance tradition like never before. whole of the UK for the Olympic Games. With My Shakespeare we invite everyone in the world to contribute their visions of Shakespeare online. With our

From Shakespeare’s birthday, April 23rd 2012, we’ve invited International Education Conference we explore how BRIGHTON some of the world’s leading artists and theatre-makers to Shakespeare is being taught to half the children in the world. create new productions and responses to Shakespeare, which will play until Autumn in the Royal Shakespeare Wherever you come from, and whatever language you speak, Company’s three theatres in Stratford-upon-Avon, across we welcome you to this great Shakespeare celebration. London in partnership with ten major theatres, LIFT and the British Museum and in Newcastle, Gateshead, Wales, Deborah Shaw, World Shakespeare Festival Director Birmingham, at the Edinburgh International Festival, Michael Boyd, Artistic Director, Royal Shakespeare Company Brighton Festival and on the BBC. EDINBURGH

Over the last 400 years, Shakespeare’s plays have travelled Every day for six weeks, national theatres, far and wide. On their travels they have midwifed new theatre renowned artists and new young companies cultures, spread light and laughter, and helped nations, will celebrate performing Shakespeare in new and old, to defi ne themselves. Wherever they have gone, their own language, within the architecture they have dug deep into the local soil, and have reshaped the Shakespeare wrote for. The Globe is air around them. delighted to be bringing Shakespeare, dressed in the clothes of many nations, In this unique event of unprecedented ambition, back home to Bankside. Globe to Globe will perform all of Shakespeare’s plays, each in a different language, each from a different Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director international company. Shakespeare’s Globe Three plays. One company. One environment. One world world’s greatest dramatist exploring issues that are as of shipwreck, grief, laughter, love and reunion. relevant today as they were 400 years ago. The company The Royal Shakespeare Company presents a unique includes Jonathan Slinger as Malvolio and Prospero, trilogy to celebrate the World Shakespeare Festival. having recently played Macbeth in the fi rst production in the transformed Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Led by RSC Associate Director David Farr, one ensemble company of RSC actors will stage a major cycle of plays, As this body of work moves to London, it will be joined What Country Friends Is This?, exploring migration, exile, by a site-specifi c production of Pericles. Directed by RSC shipwreck and the discovery of brave new worlds. The three Artistic Director Michael Boyd and designed by Tom Piper, plays date from the early, middle and late periods of this innovative promenade production of Shakespeare’s Shakespeare’s work as he returned throughout his life to tale of journeying and discovery is presented in a bold staging further explore these themes. While each production can be at the Roundhouse, London. enjoyed on its own, seen together they are an epic trilogy by the

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE

by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

16 MARCH - 14 MAY 2012 8 MARCH - 15 MAY 2012 & 16 JULY - 6 OCTOBER 2012 & 12 JULY - 6 OCTOBER 2012

Shakespeare’s joyful comedy of mistaken identity follows the Shipwrecked on the shores of a strange land, Viola believes fortunes of two sets of identical twins, accidentally separated at her twin brother Sebastian drowned. Disguising herself as birth, then miraculously thrown together again. In a town the a boy to work in the court of Count Orsino, she fi nds herself size of Ephesus, events like these can only lead to confusion. a go-between for the man she serves and the woman who refuses to love him. The Comedy of Errors is directed by Amir Nizar Zuabi. Founder David Farr directs both Twelfth Night and The Tempest. David is of the Palestinian theatre company ShiberHur, his productions a playwright, screenwriter and stage director, whose plays have for them include In The Penal Colony (Young Vic) and I Am Yusuf been performed all over the world. In recent years he has and This Is My Brother (Young Vic), which he wrote and directed. moved into fi lm and television and recently co-wrote the fi lm Hanna. Formerly Artistic Director of London’s Lyric Theatre and Director: Amir Nizar Zuabi Bristol Old Vic, he is now an Associate Director of the RSC. Designer: Jon Bausor Lighting: Jon Clark Director: David Farr Sound: Christopher Shutt Designer: Jon Bausor Lighting: Jon Clark Sound: Christopher Shutt Music: Adem Ilhan

BOOK TICKETS www.rsc.org.uk | 0844 800 1110

EDUCATION EVENTS FESTIVAL EVENTS

WHAT COUNTRY FRIENDS IS THIS? Visit the festival website A Sixth Form Conference for A level and BTEC English and Theatre Studies Students worldshakespearefestival.org.uk The Comedy of Errors,Twelfth Night and The Tempest are all inspired by themes of migration, to get involved in an event, displacement and exile. This conference will explore these themes in relation to the plays, fi nd out how the productions their characters and the situations they fi nd themselves in. were made at a creative team Dates in April and September in Stratford-upon-Avon talk or join a workshop for worldshakespearefestival.org.uk students and teachers. 4 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE ROUNDHOUSE

by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

30 MARCH - 19 MAY 2012 A site-specifi c production directed by RSC Artistic Director & 13 JULY - 7 OCTOBER 2012 Michael Boyd, which sees Shakespeare’s tale of journeying and fulfi lment recreated in promenade at the Roundhouse, London. Prospero is usurped from his position as Duke of Milan and cast away with his daughter to a remote island. Twelve years later, Tickets for Pericles on public sale from January 2012. and intent on revenge, he raises a magical tempest that shipwrecks his enemies on his shores. What begins as a search Director: Michael Boyd for retribution develops into a journey of acceptance and Designer: Tom Piper compassion in Shakespeare’s fi nal play.

Director: David Farr Designer: Jon Bausor Lighting: Jon Clark Sound: Christopher Shutt Music: Adem Ilhan

Tickets from £12 - £50 on public sale from 10 October 2011

DON’T MISS EVENTS LONDON PERFORMANCES POST-SHOW TALKBACKS The Comedy of Errors, Stay on after the show and put your questions about the Twelfth Night and The Tempest production to members of the acting company. also play in London. The Tempest, Tue 24 July Roundhouse Twelfth Night, Wed 1 Aug 1 June – 5 July 2012 The Comedy of Errors, Tue 4 Sept See pages 18 & 19. Stratford-upon-Avon, FREE worldshakespearefestival.org.uk The Royal Shakespeare Company presents a season of work in the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, exploring the struggle for absolute power and the right to lead a nation. Led by RSC Associate Director Roxana Silbert, one company of RSC actors will perform two of Shakespeare’s thrilling explorations of civil war before presenting a new play by one of Mexico’s leading playwrights in collaboration with the National Theatre of Mexico. Underlining Shakespeare’s ability to speak to the world at large, A Soldier In Every Son – An Aztec Trilogy is directly inspired by these two Shakespeare plays and charts the story of the foundation of one of the most famous civilisations in the world.

SWAN THEATRE

by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

22 MARCH - 15 SEPTEMBER 2012

Power-hungry Richard, Duke of Gloucester, plots, manipulates and murders his way to the throne in Shakespeare’s brilliant exposé 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) of Birmingham Repertory Theatre and an Associate Director of the RSC.

Director: Roxana Silbert Designer: Ti Green

BOOK TICKETS www.rsc.org.uk | 0844 800 1110

DON’T MISS EDUCATION EVENTS WIKI SHAKESPEARE: A WORLDWIDE CLASSROOM HATH BRITAIN ALL THE SUN THAT SHINES? Find out where, how and why Shakespeare is taught in A conference for GCSE English or Drama students exploring classrooms around the world and add your own knowledge Britishness in the words of Shakespeare and contemporary UK artists. and experiences as a teacher or as a student. A packed day of practical workshops, seminars and performance worldshakespearefestival.org.uk/wiki featuring Cicely Berry and British-Iraqi Hip-Hop artist Lowkey. Mon 9 July, 10.30am - 5pm, Stratford-upon-Avon Tickets: £325 (£305) per class (up to 30 students) worldshakespearefestival.org.uk 6 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

SWAN THEATRE SWAN THEATRE

by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

6 APRIL - 15 SEPTEMBER 2012 by Luis Mario Moncada A NATIONAL THEATRE OF MEXICO / King John’s claim to the throne is challenged by France, which ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY CO-PRODUCTION 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. 29 JUNE - 28 JULY 2012

Maria Aberg has worked regularly in the UK, Sweden and Late 14th century in the Valley of Mexico and a small, Germany. In the UK she has directed for the Royal Court, unknown tribe called the Aztecs propel themselves RSC, Soho Theatre and Southwark Playhouse. Her recent RSC from nomadic mercenaries to rulers of a great empire. productions include Days of Signifi cance (Swan Theatre/Tricycle Passion, power and intrigue play out in this epic political Theatre/UK Tour 2009) and The Gods Weep by Dennis Kelly thriller which charts the history of an ancient civilisation. (Hampstead Theatre 2010). Spanning a century and based on true events chronicled in Director: Maria Aberg the Aztec codices, A Soldier In Every Son - An Aztec Trilogy, Designer: Naomi Dawson unfolds in three parts, closely inspired by Shakespeare’s history plays. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival. Director: Roxana Silbert Set Designer: Jorge Ballina

Tickets from £8 - £42 on public sale from 10 October 2011

EVENTS EDUCATION EVENTS THE DIRECTOR TALKS YOUNG COMPANY PRESENT HENRY V Join Roxana Silbert to ask A 60 minute production from the RSC’s young collective how she approached exploring the nature of patriotism and the fate of young directing A Soldier In Every soldiers. With a creative team including British-Iraqi rapper Son – An Aztec Trilogy. Lowkey and Cicely Berry. Fri 6 July Tue 24 July, 4.30pm, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon, £5 Tickets: £3 worldshakespearefestival.org.uk worldshakespearefestival.org.uk THE COURTYARD THEATRE

SWAN THEATRE

A COMPANHIA BUFOMECÂNICA PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

by William Shakespeare 7 - 12 MAY 2012 Adapted by Monadhil Daood AN IRAQI THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION From Brazil, Companhia BufoMecânica brings a breathtaking production, combining Shakespeare’s text with circus, multimedia, visual metaphor and aerial choreography. 26 APRIL - 5 MAY 2012 Inspired by Shakespeare’s history plays, the bloody events of the War of the Roses are vividly re-imagined in a glorious Baghdad’s Iraqi Theatre Company create a version of black carnival of villainy, corruption and seduction. Romeo and Juliet for a new generation, infused with Iraq’s rich traditions of poetry, music and ritual. Two Roses for Richard III begins in promenade and moves into The Courtyard Theatre from outside the Royal Shakespeare Shakespeare’s great love story is set against a backdrop of Theatre. confl ict between families, communities and generations. This iconic play fi nds fresh purchase in the soil of contemporary This production reunites two of Brazil’s leading directors, Iraq, a country where sectarian strife between Sunni and Shia, Claúdio Baltar (circus companies: Intrepida, Archaos) and ignited and fuelled from outside, has left the population Fábio Ferreira, known for his text-based theatre and multimedia exhausted by a cycle of violence and revenge. Commissioned for work. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival. the World Shakespeare Festival. In Portuguese with English surtitles. In Arabic with English surtitles. Directors: Claúdio Baltar and Fábio Ferreira Director: Monadhil Daood Set Designer: Brigida Baltar Designer: Jabbarjodi Alabodi Lighting: Renato Machado Translation: Raad Mushatat Costume Designer: Rosa Magalhães

BOOK TICKETS www.rsc.org.uk | 0844 800 1110

DON’T MISS DON’T MISS LONDON PERFORMANCES THE HOUSE OF FAIRY TALES GUIDE TO THE RSC Two Roses for Richard III Throughout Summer 2012, acclaimed community arts charity also plays in London at the The House of Fairy Tales will be creating an imaginative and Roundhouse from 18 - 23 May exciting trail in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The guide will take See page 18. the audience on a journey through the life of Shakespeare and Romeo and Juliet plays at LIFT his plays to help solve the mystery of the missing manuscript. at Riverside Studios from The Guide will be launched with a live art weekend of action and 28 - 30 June. See page 20. intrigue. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk 8 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE

by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

28 MAY - 7 JULY 2012

‘How many times Shall this our lofty scene be acted o’er In states unborn and accents yet unknown’

The dictator must be assassinated. But who will replace him?

Shakespeare’s great political thriller fi nds 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 of Hamlet.

Director: Gregory Doran Designer: Michael Vale

Tickets from £5 - £50 on public sale from 10 October 2011

EDUCATION EVENTS EVENTS JULIUS CAESAR – A PASSAGE TO AFRICA Two Roses for Richard III will have A conference for undergraduates exploring Shakespeare’s an Unwrapped Event on Sat 12 May inspiration for writing Julius Caesar. The day includes speakers on at 10.30am. Join members of the the life and times of Shakespeare and Julius Caesar, workshops creative team and acting company as with the creative team and practical drama sessions exploring they demonstrate the play’s journey how the production has been inspired by modern day Africa. from page to stage. Thu 7 June, 10.30am - 5pm, Stratford-upon-Avon, £35 (£25) Stratford-upon-Avon, £5 worldshakespearefestival.org.uk worldshakespearefestival.org.uk SWAN THEATRE

by Tim Crouch A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

13 JUNE - 6 JULY 2012

A play ‘What should the wars do with these for jiggling fools?’ ages 11+

The story of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar told through the eyes of a jiggling fool, a lowly poet having bad dreams, a man who fi nds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time…with the wrong name...while history thunders past.

Written for ages 11+, I, Cinna (The Poet) engages a young audience to think and write, to consider the relationship between words and actions, art and politics, self and society. This is the latest in a series of solo shows written by Tim Crouch inspired by Shakespeare’s lesser characters, including I, Peaseblossom and I, Malvolio (RSC, 2011). Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival. Project partner

If All The World Were Paper Were If All The World I, Cinna (The Poet) will also tour to schools in the Midlands and Newcastle upon Tyne.

Director: Tim Crouch Photograph of Oily Cart’s Cart’s of Oily Photograph

SWAN ROOM

by Tim Webb AN OILY CART / ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY CO-PRODUCTION

23 MAY - 17 JUNE 2012

Oily Cart go on a voyage of discovery with their A play young audiences through the landscapes of for Shakespeare’s imagination and the music of ages 2-4 his language.

Renowned for their ‘wonderlands’, the company creates a total theatre experience for children aged 2 to 4, their families and friends. Multi-talented performers, live music, enchanting visuals, intriguing textures and delightful odours come together to create a magical introduction to the theatre. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival.

‘This is theatre which cradles its young audience and helps them to dream’ Caroline McGinn, Times, on Oily Cart’s How Long is a Piece of String

BOOK TICKETS www.rsc.org.uk | 0844 800 1110 Tickets £5 for under 26s and £10 for over 26s on public sale from 10 October 2011

EDUCATION DON’T MISS SHAKESPEARE UNLOCKED MY SHAKESPEARE On 23 April 2012, BBC Learning and What does Shakespeare mean to you? Based on an RSC Education are launching digital interactive map of the world we will be asking people all resources for teachers and students providing unique insights into over the globe to build a living tapestry of the connections Shakespeare in rehearsal and performance. we make to the work of William Shakespeare. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk See page 29 for full details. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk 10 STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

THE COURTYARD THEATRE

by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

26 JULY - 15 SEPTEMBER 2012

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 recent credits include Broken Glass (Tricycle Theatre, 2011) and The Killing of Sister George (Arts Theatre, 2011). He has worked at the Birmingham Rep, Lyric Hammersmith and National Theatre where he directed the Pinter double bill Landscape and A Slight Ache in 2008. Meera Syal will play Beatrice. An actress, comedienne, writer and singer, she is perhaps best known as one of the creators of the radio and television series Goodness Gracious Me, in which she also appeared, as well as The Kumars at No. 42.

Director: Iqbal Khan

BOOK TICKETS www.rsc.org.uk | 0844 800 1110 Tickets from £12 - £50 on public sale from 10 October 2011

EVENTS OFF BY HEART SHAKESPEARE Young fi nalists from the BBC’s Shakespeare recital contest compete against each other to deliver Shakespeare’s famous speeches to a panel of judges. One will be crowned the 2012 Off By Heart Shakespeare champion. 29 January 2012, 3pm, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tickets £5 / £10 This event will be fi lmed for a BBC2 documentary and broadcast as part of the BBC Shakespeare Season in 2012. RSC Education Hotline: 0844 800 1113 SWAN THEATRE

by William Shakespeare THE WOOSTER GROUP / ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY CO-PRODUCTION

3 - 18 AUGUST 2012

Shakespeare’s epic Trojan play about love, war and politics. Rupert Goold and Elizabeth LeCompte co-direct an Anglo-American company in a groundbreaking, multi-media collaboration between the RSC and The Wooster Group commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival.

Elizabeth LeCompte is director and co-founder of the New York-based Wooster Group. Formed in 1980, the company is well known for its experimental and innovative style. Its most recent works include the Baroque opera La Didone and a version of Tennessee Williams’ Vieux Carré. RSC Associate Director and Artistic Director of Headlong, Rupert Goold’s most recent productions include Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice (RSC), Macbeth and ENRON! (Headlong/Chichester/ West End).

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE Directors: Elizabeth LeCompte and Rupert Goold

A CHEKHOV INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL / DMITRY KRYMOV’S LABORATORY / SCHOOL OF DRAMATIC ART THEATRE PRODUCTION

10 - 18 AUGUST 2012

Shakespeare’s magical, shape-shifting play. A joyous combination of incompatible things: dumbstruck actors, suppressed emotions running riot, masterly solecism, divine blundering and, fi nally, craftsmen transformed into poets…

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 be unlike any Dream you have seen before. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival.

In Russian with English surtitles.

Director: Dmitry Krymov Designer: Vera Martynova

BOOK TICKETS www.rsc.org.uk | 0844 800 1110

EXHIBITION DON’T MISS SHAKESPEARE: STAGING THE WORLD A TENDER THING EVENT Maps, prints, drawings, paintings, tapestries, swords Re-imagining Shakespeare and armour, manuscripts, coins, medals and other Ben Power and guests look at the different representations of intriguing objects that will bring Shakespeare’s Shakespeare in the World Shakespeare Festival – from translations, London to life. to the reimagining of Romeo and Juliet in A Tender Thing. 19 July - 25 November, British Museum Thu 10 May, Swan Room, Stratford-upon-Avon See page 22 for full details. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk worldshakespearefestival.org.uk 12 SWAN THEATRE

After Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet

by Ben Power STRATFORD-UPON-AVON A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

27 SEPTEMBER - 20 OCTOBER 2012

Ben Power weaves together the words of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in a touching story of two lovers. Older than their more famous counterparts, but no less impetuous in their affection, they revel in the joy of true love while coming to terms with the realisation that they are unable to spend eternity together.

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 the RSC at Northern Stage in 2009.

Director: Helena Kaut-Howson

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE AND SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE LIVING WALLS Presented by Squidsoup 21 APRIL - 9 SEPTEMBER 2012

Imagine the walls of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre coming alive with living wallpapers made of animated texts and quotes from Shakespearean characters. Reach up and touch the patterns and see them turn into insect-like creatures that will scuttle off, scared, leaving words and curses in their wake. Stand and watch and the creatures may venture forward, wanting to befriend with messages and questions. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival.

ROYAL SHAKESPEARE THEATRE AND SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST THE STORIES OF SHAKESPEARE

21 APRIL - 31 DECEMBER 2012

Take a fresh view of the stories in Shakespeare’s plays in an exhibition through the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust properties in Stratford-upon-Avon. The exhibition will grow through the World Shakespeare Festival; using objects from our collections, loans and digital screenings of newly commissioned performances, the exhibition will encourage you to see Tickets from £5 - £50 on public sale from 10 October 2011 his work in a global context.

EVENTS EVENTS PILOT NIGHT THE DIRECTOR TALKS 12 JULY 2012 Join Helena Kaut-Howson to ask how she approached The RSC and Pilot commission responses to Shakespeare directing A Tender Thing. especially for the World Shakespeare Festival. A glorious Mon 1 Oct, 5.15-6pm, £5 mix of comic, touching and extraordinary performances. Stratford-upon-Avon The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon Visit www.pilotnights.co.uk for details of the line up. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk 14 LONDON Globe to Globe 23 April - 3 june 2012

37 Plays. 37 Languages. Shakespeare’s coming home to Bankside. shakespearesglobe.com/globetoglobe BARBICAN THEATRE

by William Shakespeare A NINAGAWA COMPANY PRODUCTION

29 MAY - 2 JUNE 2012

Cymbeline’s daughter, Imogen, is forced into hiding as her husband’s jealousy throws their marriage into jeopardy. Shakespeare’s poetic and complex late play unveils the physical and spiritual journeys his hero and heroine must undertake to recover their love.

Legendary director Yukio Ninagawa, renowned the world over for his visually powerful interpretations of Shakespeare’s work, brings this rarely performed romance tragedy to the Barbican stage.

With a career that has spanned over forty years, Ninagawa has most recently directed Henry VI, Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet, Coriolanus and a Kabuki Twelfth Night, as well as Titus Andronicus, performed as part of the RSC’s Complete Works Festival in 2006.

BARBICAN HALL In Japanese with English surtitles. Director: Yukio Ninagawa by Toni Morrison, Rokia Traoré The Barbican in association with Thelma Holt and HoriPro Inc and Peter Sellars A BARBICAN PRODUCTION

JULY 2012 (EXACT DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED)

Malian singer/songwriter Rokia Traoré and Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison, two women of African and African American origin, come together to create Desdemona, an intimate and profound conversation between Shakespeare’s Desdemona and her African nurse Barbary, from beyond the grave. Moving beyond centuries of colonialism and racism, two women share stories, songs and hope for a different future.

Toni Morrison transports one of the most iconic, central, and disturbing treatments of race in Western culture into the new realities and potential outcomes facing a rising generation of the 21st century. Rokia Traoré creates a musical texture that includes traditional African instruments, the kora and ngoni, creating an intimate performance that allows the audience to connect deeply with the two women who have the microphone at last. Titus Andronicus

Desdemona is commissioned by: Wiener Festwochen, Théâtre Nanterre-Amandiers, Cal Performances, Berkeley, California, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York, spielzeit’europa I Berliner Festspiele, Barbican, London, Arts Council England and London 2012 Festival. Photo Ninagawa Company’s Ninagawa Company’s Photo

BOOK TICKETS for Desdemona at the Barbican BOOK TICKETS for Cymbeline at the Barbican www.barbican.org.uk | 0845 120 7548 www.barbican.org.uk | 0845 120 7548 Tickets on sale in early November 2011 Tickets are £16 - £50 and are on sale now

EVENTS FESTIVAL EVENTS DON’T MISS

BARBICAN EVENTS Visit the festival website WHAT COUNTRY A series of post-show talks and worldshakespearefestival.org.uk FRIENDS IS THIS? debates will take place at the to get involved in an event, Four of Shakespeare’s plays Barbican as part of the fi nd out how the productions exploring migration, exile, shipwreck World Shakespeare Festival. were made at a creative team and the discovery of brave new See www.barbican.org.uk talk or join a workshop for worlds. Playing in London (See page for full details. students and teachers. 18) and Stratford-upon-Avon (See pages 4 & 5). 16 LONDON

OLIVIER THEATRE

by William Shakespeare A NATIONAL THEATRE PRODUCTION

FROM JULY 2012

Timon, a wealthy philanthropist and patron of the arts, lives to please his friends. His lavish generosity bankrupts him and, suddenly deserted by his former admirers, he is forced to leave Athens where he plots his revenge with furious bitterness.

Simon Russell Beale is Timon.

Director: Nicholas Hytner

BOOK TICKETS for the National Theatre www.nationaltheatre.org.uk | 020 7452 3000 Tickets available from Spring 2012, with half the tickets at £12

EVENTS DON’T MISS NATIONAL THEATRE EVENTS IN A PICKLE IN LONDON Visit the festival website for Oily Cart’s In a Pickle plays details of Platforms, events and at Stratford Circus, London, learning activities at the National from 19 – 23 June. Theatre as part of the www.stratford-circus.com World Shakespeare Festival. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk ROUNDHOUSE

A COMPANHIA BUFOMECÂNICA PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

18 - 23 MAY 2012

A grand spectacle of theatre fused with circus unfolds in a unique performance from Brazil’s Companhia BufoMecânica. Inspired by Shakespeare’s history plays, the bloody events of The War of the Roses are vividly re-imagined in a glorious black carnival of villainy, corruption and seduction.

In Portuguese with English surtitles.

See page 8 for more details on the production.

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDHOUSE

by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

1 JUNE - 4 JULY 2012 5 JUNE - 5 JULY 2012

Shakespeare’s joyful comedy of mistaken identity follows the Shipwrecked on the shores of a strange land, Viola believes fortunes of two sets of identical twins, accidentally separated at her twin brother Sebastian drowned. Disguising herself as birth, then miraculously thrown together again. In a town the a boy to work in the court of Count Orsino, she fi nds herself size of Ephesus, events like these can only lead to confusion. a go-between for the man she serves and the woman who refuses to love him. See page 4 for full production details. See page 4 for full production details.

BOOK TICKETS www.roundhouse.org.uk | 0844 482 8008

ALSO IN LONDON FESTIVAL EVENTS DON’T MISS

NATIONAL THEATRE AND Visit the festival website The Wooster Group and THE BARBICAN worldshakespearefestival.org.uk Royal Shakespeare Company’s Don’t miss Desdemona and to get involved in an event, co-production of Cymbeline at the Barbican, fi nd out how the productions Troilus and Cressida in and Timon of Athens at the were made at a creative team Stratford-upon-Avon. National Theatre. talk or join a workshop for See page 12 for full details. See pages 16 & 17 for students and teachers. full details. 18 ROUNDHOUSE

inspired by William Shakespeare A ROUNDHOUSE / LIFT PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

25 JUNE - 8 JULY

Directed by Companhia BufoMecânica performer Renato Rocha and inspired by Shakespeare’s tragedies, The Dark Side of Love LONDON is a delirious and dreamlike journey into the depths of what we do for love. Performed by a cast of teenagers in an atmospheric underground performance space beneath the Roundhouse Main Space.

Director: Renato Rocha

ROUNDHOUSE ROUNDHOUSE

by William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION

9 JUNE - 5 JULY 2012 Pericles, Prince of Tyre, is forced to fl ee his kingdom to escape war with King Antiochus. Travelling to distant lands, he suffers Prospero is usurped from his position as Duke of Milan and shipwreck, betrayal and the seeming loss of those he loves. cast away with his daughter to a remote island. Twelve years In a dreamlike tale of wonder, one man’s endurance is fi nally later, and intent on revenge, he raises a magical tempest rewarded with reunion and spiritual discovery. that shipwrecks his enemies on his shores. What begins as a search for retribution develops into a journey of acceptance Tickets for Pericles on public sale from January 2012. and compassion in Shakespeare’s fi nal play.

See page 5 for full production details.

Tickets from £10 - £42 on public sale from 10 October 2011

DON’T MISS DON’T MISS EXHIBITIONS IN WHAT COUNTRY FRIENDS IS THIS? STRATFORD-UPON-AVON The Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night and The Tempest will Don’t miss the free exhibitions also be playing in Stratford-upon-Avon at the on offer that include seeing the Royal Shakespeare Theatre throughout the festival. walls of the Royal Shakespeare See pages 4 & 5 for full details. Theatre coming alive with the animated words of Shakespeare. See page 13 for full details. A collaboration between LIFT and the RSC to bring three new productions to London

LIFT AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS

LIFT AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS

by William Shakespeare A meditation on Hamlet by William Shakespeare Adapted by Monadhil Daood A dreamthinkspeak PRODUCTION AN IRAQI THEATRE COMPANY PRODUCTION

12 - 23 JUNE 2012 28 - 30 JUNE 2012

An ambitious textual and visual deconstruction of Hamlet, Baghdad’s Iraqi Theatre Company create a version of interweaving performance, fi lm and installation to create a Romeo and Juliet for a new generation, infused with Iraq’s rich vigorous new interpretation that cuts to the heart of the play. traditions of poetry, music and ritual. Boldly juxtaposing scenes and speeches, the company aims to examine themes and characters from a variety of angles, Shakespeare’s great love story is set against a backdrop of bringing new meaning to one of Shakespeare’s most confl ict between families, communities and generations. performed works. This iconic play fi nds fresh purchase in the soil of contemporary Iraq, a country where sectarian strife between Sunni and Shia, Meditative and dreamlike in quality, the hallmark of ignited and fuelled from outside, has left the population dreamthinkspeak’s productions, The Rest is Silence will be exhausted by a cycle of violence and revenge. Commissioned for performed within a specially designed and multilayered the World Shakespeare Festival. structure, allowing the action to unfold on different levels and on all sides. In Arabic with English surtitles.

Commissioned by Brighton Festival with LIFT and the Director: Monadhil Daood Royal Shakespeare Company. Designer: Jabbarjodi Alabodi Director: Tristan Sharps Translation: Raad Mushatat

BOOK TICKETS for performances at Riverside Studios www.riversidestudios.co.uk | 020 8237 1111

DON’T MISS EVENTS INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS LIFT AND Don’t miss the chance to see a variety of different theatre RSC EVENTS companies as part of the World Shakespeare Festival, including LIFT and the RSC present National Theatre of Mexico (See page 7), Companhia BufoMecânica a series of talks and events (See pages 8 & 18), The Wooster Group (See page 12), focussing on theatre from the The Ninagawa Company (See page 16) and more. Arab world. www.liftfestival.com 20 ALMEIDA THEATRE

by William Shakespeare AN ALMEIDA THEATRE PRODUCTION

31 AUGUST - 3 NOVEMBER 2012

‘O Lear, Lear, Lear! Beat at this gate that let thy folly in, LONDON And thy dear judgement out.’

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 fl attered by the false hyperbole of Regan and Goneril. When his youngest daughter, Cordelia, confesses to love him simply as a daughter should, his pride is dented and he casts her out of his kingdom.

Too late to realise his mistake, and forced from power by his LIFT AT RIVERSIDE STUDIOS offspring, an increasingly impotent and frail Lear descends into madness. Award-winning actor Jonathan Pryce plays the eponymous role.

Director: Michael Attenborough Designer: Tom Scutt Lighting: Jon Clark by William Shakespeare Sound and Music: Dan Jones Adapted by Lotfi Achour and Anissa Daoud AN ARTISTES, PRODUCTEURS, ASSOCIÉS PRODUCTION

4 - 7 JULY 2012

A Tunisian Macbeth where Shakespeare’s malevolent tyrant and his wife are reincarnated as the equally diabolical, yet pathetically fallible modern-day duo, Leïla and Zine Ben Ali .

Combining Shakespeare’s text with fi lm and reportage, this production interrogates the way Arab leaders use, possess and perpetuate power. It explores their obstinate blindness in the face of the shifting sands of time and the ambition and aspiration of the people. What is the root of this power? Where does this entitlement stem from?

Shakespeare’s vision of evil and driving ambition fi nds new resonance amidst a mafi a-like culture based on galloping globalisation and the relics of colonial domination. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival.

In Arabic with English surtitles.

Director: Lotfi Achour Music: Jawhar Basti

BOOK TICKETS for the Almeida Theatre Tickets from £10 - £25 on public sale from 10 October 2011 www.almeida.co.uk | 020 7359 4404

Tickets £8 - £32 on public sale from 24 October 2011 (limited performances)

DON’T MISS DON’T MISS THESE PRODUCTIONS ELSEWHERE THE REST IS SILENCE Macbeth will be playing at Northern dreamthinkspeak’s The Rest Stage in Newcastle upon Tyne from Is Silence will play at Northern 12-14 July (See Page 24). Stage from 26-30 June Romeo and Juliet will (See page 24) and at Brighton be playing at the Swan Theatre Festival from 5-27 May in Stratford-upon-Avon from (See page 26). 26 April – 5 May (See page 8). 19 JULY - 25 NOVEMBER 2012

SHAKESPEARE: STAGING THE WORLD THE BP EXHIBITION

In 2012, the British Museum is staging a major exhibition on the world of Shakespeare in collaboration with the RSC.

Professional theatre was a new phenomenon in Shakespeare’s lifetime, and the London playhouse presented the world to a wide public. This exhibition explores this important era through the eyes of Shakespeare, his players and audiences. It will investigate his importance in shaping a new sense of national identity, fi rst English and then British, and how he recast characters from antiquity to reframe history. The exhibition will connect such aspects to Shakespeare’s plays through elements of contemporary performance.

Shakespeare’s London of around 1612 will be brought to life by objects from the Museum’s collection and from across Europe. Maps, prints, drawings, paintings, tapestries, arms and armour, manuscripts, coins, medals and other intriguing objects will all be examined through the lens of Shakespeare’s plays.

BOOK TICKETS www.britishmuseum.org/shakespeare | 020 7323 8181 Tickets on public sale from September 2011

DON’T MISS EDUCATION EVENTS FESTIVAL EVENTS ALSO AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM TEACHER INSET Visit the festival website An exciting events programme In Autumn 2012, the RSC and the British Museum will offer worldshakespearefestival.org.uk including performance, fi lm, talks, teachers a unique INSET course linked to the British Museum to get involved in an event, lectures and workshops will exhibition. The course will explore active approaches to fi nd out how the productions accompany this exhibition. Shakespeare’s plays and practical ways of using objects to were made at a creative team More details will be available online help students understand actions and characters. talk or join a workshop for at britishmuseum.org/shakespeare britishmuseum.org/schools and students and teachers. from March 2012. 2022 worldshakespearefestival.org.uk LONDON

An international conference exploring the value of the arts in young people’s lives from Shakespeare to the digital realm

6 - 8 SEPTEMBER 2012

Worlds Together invites you to contribute to a major international forum challenging and exploring the place of Shakespeare and the arts in young people’s lives across the world. Created in two parallel strands, it is part of the World Shakespeare Festival and turbinegeneration, an international, online educational partnership, produced by Tate.

Designed for education professionals, this unique three-day event will investigate learning across the arts and in museums, asking what’s at stake for children’s cultural lives today. Through keynote addresses, practical workshops and international dialogue, participants can choose to focus on Shakespeare, or look more broadly across the arts.

50% of the world’s school children study Shakespeare

The Shakespeare programme will ask what Shakespeare means to teachers and young people in different countries and how this can help us develop approaches that keep his work a coherent and vivid part of a child’s educational and cultural life.

During the conference you will: • Engage in practical workshops and seminars on teaching Shakespeare from leading international artists, academics and practitioners. These sessions will provide you with transferable strategies to use in your classroom • Explore research and practice from Shakespeare classrooms around the world, deepening your understanding about Shakespeare as an artist who speaks to many different cultural practices and perspectives • Respond to provocations and questions about the place of Shakespeare and the arts in a contemporary curriculum

Speakers include: children’s writer Michael Morpurgo; leading Shakespeare academic and author of 1599 James Shapiro; former education Secretary of State Estelle Morris and leading educationalist Shirley Brice-Heath.

Worlds Together is the fi rst collaboration between Tate Modern, the British Museum, the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The conference is hosted throughout Tate Modern and its Clore Learning Centre, Bankside, London. Events will also take place at the British Museum and the National Theatre. Spaces are limited.

Delegate fee: £395 to include the full three-day programme, lunch, refreshments and free entry to the British Museum exhibition, Shakespeare: Staging the World.

To book or fi nd out more, call the RSC Education Hotline on 0844 800 1113 or visit worldshakespearefestival.org.uk/education

For further information about the broader arts programme, visit tate.org.uk NORTHERN STAGE

NORTHERN STAGE A meditation on Hamlet by William Shakespeare A dreamthinkspeak PRODUCTION

26 - 30 JUNE 2012

An ambitious textual and visual deconstruction of Hamlet, interweaving performance, fi lm and installation to create a vigorous new interpretation that cuts to the heart of the play. Boldly juxtaposing scenes and speeches, the company aims to examine themes and characters from a variety of angles, bringing new meaning to one of Shakespeare’s most performed works.

Commissioned by Brighton Festival with LIFT and the Royal Shakespeare Company. THE SAGE GATESHEAD See page 20 for full details.

Book by Arthur Laurents, Music by Leonard Bernstein, Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim NORTHERN STAGE A SAGE GATESHEAD PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY’S OPEN STAGES NORTHERN STAGE 4 - 7 JULY 2012

A stunning, full-scale production of Bernstein’s West Side Story by William Shakespeare with bold, new choreography by Will Tuckett. Also directed by Adapted by Lotfi Achour and Anissa Daoud Will Tuckett, West Side Story features Northern Sinfonia, AN ARTISTES, PRODUCTEURS, ASSOCIÉS PRODUCTION orchestra of The Sage Gateshead, conducted by renowned conductor and musical director John Wilson. 12 - 14 JULY 2012 The cast will feature the very best in exciting new and emerging talent, from professionals at the outset of their musical career A Tunisian Macbeth where Shakespeare’s to semi-professionals and amateurs engaged through a malevolent tyrant and his wife are wide-reaching audition process. reincarnated as the equally diabolical, yet pathetically fallible modern-day duo, Part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages project. Leïla and Zine Ben Ali . See page 28 for full details. Shakespeare’s vision of evil and driving Director and Choreographer: Will Tuckett ambition fi nds new resonance amidst a Conductor and Musical Director: John Wilson mafi a-like culture based on galloping globalisation and the relics of colonial domination. Based on a conception of Jerome Robbins. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival. Entire original production directed and choreographed by Jerome Robbins. Originally produced on Broadway by Robert E Griffi ths and Harold S Prince In Arabic with English surtitles. by arrangement with Roger L Stevens. Presented by arrangement with Joseph Weinberger Limited on behalf of Music Theatre International of New York. See page 21 for full details.

BOOK TICKETS for The Sage Gateshead BOOK TICKETS for Northern Stage www.thesagegateshead.org | 0191 443 4661 www.northernstage.co.uk | 0191 230 5151 Tickets on public sale from 10 October 2011 Tickets £12.50 - £24 on public sale from 10 November 2011

EVENTS EDUCATION CONFERENCES EVENTS AT THE SAGE RE-MAKING SHAKESPEARE GATESHEAD Northern Stage, the School of English at Newcastle University, and the RSC explore Look out for our exciting and the impact of Shakespeare’s work on artists and educators across the world. vibrant fringe events around Talks, workshops and presentations with speakers including artists from the West Side Story with music and World Shakespeare Festival and leading academics. theatre performances, talks, fi lms Sat 14 July, Northern Stage, £20 and workshops for everyone. Northern Stage Box Offi ce 0191 230 5151 or go to northernstage.co.uk thesagegateshead.org 24 THEATRE ROYAL, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE OLD REP THEATRE

by William Shakespeare inspired by the work of William Shakespeare A ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY PRODUCTION A BIRMINGHAM REPERTORY THEATRE COMPANY AND BARCELONA INTERNACIONAL TEATRE PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY 19 - 28 JULY 2012

‘How many times 31 AUGUST - 15 SEPTEMBER 2012 Shall this our lofty scene be acted o’er In states unborn and accents yet unknown’ Birmingham Repertory Theatre Company joins forces with internationally renowned director Calixto Bieito and The dictator must be assassinated. But who will replace him? Barcelona Internacional Teatre to present an original play inspired by Shakespeare’s references to forests throughout Shakespeare’s great political thriller fi nds dark contemporary his work, in a Dante-esque journey through life, paradise, echoes in modern Africa, directed by RSC Chief Associate hell, truth and lies. Director Gregory Doran. With a cast of English and Catalan actors, led by the great Gregory’s most recent productions include Shakespeare’s Catalan actor Josep Maria Pou, Calixto Bieito will show, ‘lost play’ Cardenio re-imagined, as part of the RSC’s 50th through plays such as Timon Of Athens, A Midsummer Night’s birthday celebrations, as well as his 2008 production of Hamlet. Dream, King Lear, Macbeth and As You Like It, a “forest” which

represents a place for the getaway, a punishment or sentence, NEWCASTLE/GATESHEAD Director: Gregory Doran and, sometimes, a place for shelter and redemption. Designer: Michael Vale Calixto Bieito is no stranger to UK audiences, having See page 9 for full details. previously directed at ENO, WNO, the Barbican, Edinburgh International Festival and Birmingham Repertory Theatre. One of the most prominent and sought after directors in Europe, Calixto’s re-workings of the classics test BIRMINGHAM boundaries and provoke reaction with their spellbinding and passionate vitality.

Performed in Catalan and English with surtitles.

Director: Calixto Bieito Designer: Rebecca Ringst Dramaturgy: Daniel Loayza and Calixto Bieito

BOOK TICKETS for Newcastle Theatre Royal BOOK TICKETS for Birmingham Rep www.theatreroyal.co.uk | 08448 11 21 21 www.birmingham-rep.co.uk | 0121 236 4455 Tickets £9 - £30 on sale from 10 November 2011 Tickets now on public sale

DON’T MISS DON’T MISS IN A PICKLE at Northern Stage This beautiful voyage through Shakespeare’s imagination is a magical introduction to theatre for children aged 2+ and their families. 27 - 30 June. 2007: MACBETH See page 10 for full details Edinburgh International Festival Northern Stage Box Offi ce 0191 230 5151 Exact dates to be announced. or northernstage.co.uk See page 27 for full details. BRIGHTON FESTIVAL

A meditation on Hamlet by William Shakespeare A dreamthinkspeak PRODUCTION

5 - 27 MAY 2012

An ambitious textual and visual deconstruction of Hamlet, interweaving performance, fi lm and installation to create a vigorous new interpretation that cuts to the heart of the play. Boldly juxtaposing scenes and speeches, the company aims to examine themes and characters from a variety of angles, bringing new meaning to one of Shakespeare’s most performed works.

Commissioned by Brighton Festival with LIFT and the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Director: Tristan Sharps

See page 20 for full details.

DRAGON FILM STUDIOS

by William Shakespeare A NATIONAL THEATRE WALES PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE COMPANY

AUGUST 2012 (EXACT DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED)

The story of Caius Martius, Coriolanus, is re-imagined in an era of 24-hour news, celebrity culture and a new global polity. A site-specifi c work staged within the massive spaces of Dragon Film Studios, with outside broadcasts from the battlefi eld, popular grievances delivered straight to camera and audience participants as the body politic, this production is a mash-up of previous attempts to get to grips with a contrary and perplexing fi gure. Commissioned for the World Shakespeare Festival.

National Theatre Wales’ previous work includes Aeschylus’s The Persians, staged on the military training range of mid-Wales, and The Passion, which The Observer described as ‘one of the outstanding theatrical events not only of this year, but of the decade’. Directors: Mike Pearson and Mike Brookes Designers: Mike Brookes and Simon Banham Composer: John Hardy Sound: Mike Beer

BOOK TICKETS for National Theatre Wales BOOK TICKETS for the Brighton Festival www.nationaltheatrewales.org www.brightonfestival.org | 01273 709709 Text NTW 21 to 61211 to get show updates. On sale from 24 May 2012 Tickets on sale from 23 February 2012

DON’T MISS DON’T MISS MY SHAKESPEARE WSF: SHAKESPEARE CHALLENGE BRONZE ARTS AWARD What does Shakespeare mean to you? Based on an The RSC has worked with Arts Award to create a special interactive map of the world we will be asking people all over World Shakespeare Festival edition of the Shakespeare Challenge the globe to build a living tapestry of the connections we all Bronze level arts award celebrating how Shakespeare’s plays are still make to the work of William Shakespeare. re-imagined and interpreted by cultures and countries around See page 29 for full details. the world. worldshakespearefestival.org.uk and www.artsaward.org.uk 26 Designer: Director: In Russian withEnglishsurtitles. Commissioned for theWorld Shakespeare Festival. A Midsummer Night’s Dream Night’s Midsummer A From Russia comes DmitryKrymov’s new interpretation of blundering and,fi suppressed emotionsrunningriot,masterly solecism, divine combination ofincompatible things:dumbstruck actors, Shakespeare’s magical, shape-shiftingplay. Ajoyous (EXACT DATES TO BEANNOUNCED) 10 AUGUST-2SEPTEMBER2012 Join ouremaillist tobefi BOOK TICKETS theatre companies aspartoftheWorld Shakespeare Festival Edinburgh International Festival presents responses to Shakespeare bytwo oftheworld’s most visionaryandvisually striking 10 AUGUST-2SEPTEMBER2012 of comedies to beunlike any his generation. Expecthistake onShakespeare’s most magical established himasoneofthemost originaldirectorial voices of artist anddesigner whosevisually stunning productions have DON’T MISS See page12 for more details. from 10-18August. also playsinStratford-upon-Avon International Festival, thisshow As well asthe Edinburgh DREAM (ASYOULIKEIT) A MIDSUMMERNIGHT’S A CHEKHOV INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL /DMITRYKRYMOV’S LABORATORY /SCHOOLOFDRAMATIC ARTTHEATRE PRODUCTION Dmitry Krymov Vera Martynova nally, craftsmen transformed into poets… for theEdinburgh International Festival EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL rst tohearaboutperformance dates andwhentickets goonsale: eif.co.uk Dream . DmitryKrymov isadirector, DON’T MISS See page25for details. 31 August –15September Shakespeare’s forests throughout hiswork. Internacional Teatre present anew playinspired by Birmingham Repertory Theatre CompanyandBarcelona FORESTS you have seenbefore.

‘Brash, aggressively violent and very free adaptation of of adaptation free very and violent aggressively ‘Brash, (EXACT DATES TO BEANNOUNCED) 10 AUGUST-2SEPTEMBER2012 Supported by Cast includes: Translation: Director: In Polish withEnglish surtitles. is transformed into acontemporary livingtheatrical fi Shakespeare’s web ofpolitics,ambitionandthesupernatural an extraordinary, layered soundscape playingtricksontheear, With spectacular pyrotechnics, immersive videoeffects and kill men,whynotalsowomen andchildren? is justifi motion, works faster andever more effi in itsdepictionofthemachineviolence, which,once setin contemporary andbrutal middle-eastern confl Acclaimed director GrzegorzJarzyna’s production, setina and destruction. Awaronterror thatisawarofterror. Military commander Macbethunleashes anightmare ofcarnage Shakespeare’s tragedy’ Shakespeare’s ed, soiskillingintheprivacy ofone’s home.Ifyou can Grzegorz Jarzyna Stanisław Baranczak the AdamMickiewicz Institute Cezary Kosinski EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL New York Times and Adapted byGrzegorzJarzyna A TRWARSZAWA PRODUCTION Danuta Stenka ciently. Ifkillinginawar based onShakespeare ict, isunfl

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EDINBURGH BRIGHTON BRIDGEND STRATFORD-UPON-AVON

A UNIQUE COLLABORATION BETWEEN AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL THEATRE

6400 AMATEUR THEATRE-MAKERS FROM 6 TO 90 YEARS OLD 263 AMATEUR PRODUCTIONS ACROSS THE UK 174 SHAKESPEARE PRODUCTIONS 19 MACBETHS 18 A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAMS 13 THE TEMPESTS 12 TWELFTH NIGHTS 12 ROMEO AND JULIETS 30 NEW PLAYS 6 NEW MUSICALS 26 DEVISED PLAYS

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s Open Stages is a new project As part of the World Shakespeare Festival we are inviting that aims to embrace, develop and celebrate amateur theatre, some of RSC Open Stages’ most exciting amateur companies re-forging the bond with the world of professional theatre. to perform at the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Throughout 2011 and 2012, the RSC, in partnership with a number of producing theatres and amateur theatre These performances will take place on 13, 14, 15, 21 and 22 associations, is running a national programme of skill-sharing July 2012. Visit www.worldshakespearefestival.org.uk to fi nd events and showcases, with amateur societies from across out who will be performing. the UK producing their own Shakespeare-themed productions. ‘ The RSC wants to lead a step change in the relationship with Over 260 amateur companies have signed up to produce the amateur sector; to celebrate its rich traditions, open our RSC Open Stages productions across the UK, from Penzance doors to its work and collaborate with partners nationally to to the Isle of Skye, with over 6400 people taking part. Some of leave a signifi cant legacy.’ these companies have been regularly producing Shakespeare MICHAEL BOYD since well before the establishment of the RSC and some are trying it for the fi rst time. Productions have been performed As part of Open Stages, West Side Story will be performed at everywhere from castles to village halls, beaches to ballrooms, The Sage Gateshead. See page 24 for full details. supermarkets to forests, with many being performed in the hundreds of successful amateur-run theatres around Open Stages Partner Theatres: Contact, Manchester; Hall for the country. Cornwall; Lyric Theatre, Belfast; National Theatre Scotland; New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; Nuffi eld Theatre, Southampton; Questors, London; Sherman, Cardiff; The Sage Gateshead.

28

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following supporters are not offi cial Partners of London 2012

Travelex and the National Theatre are proudly celebrating the 10th season of Travelex £12 tickets

The RSC Ensemble is generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and the Kovner Foundation The RSC Literary Department is supported by the Drue Heinz Trust

Worlds Together is supported by Unilever. The Unilever Series: turbinegeneration is an online educational partnership linking schools and galleries internationally. The project is produced by Tate and sponsored by Unilever.

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide. We work in over 100 countries in the arts, education and English. Our global arts team works with the best of British creative talent to develop innovative events and collaborations that link thousands of up-and-coming artists and cultural institutions around the world, drawing them into a closer relationship with the UK.

Image credits

Page Production Credit 6 Hath Britain All The Sun That Shines? Image by Ellie Kurttz 8, 20 Romeo & Juliet Photo by Raad Mushatat 9, 25 Julius Caesar Image by Mario Benjamin 9 Passage to Africa Photo by Stewart Hemley 10, 25 In a Pickle Production: If All the World Were Paper. Photo by Patrick Baldwin 11 Off By Heart Shakespeare Image by Stewart Hemley 16 Cymbeline Production of Titus Andronicus 16 Desdemona © Vienna Festival production of Desdemona 17 Timon of Athens Photo of Simon Russell Beale by Matt Humphrey 20, 24, 26 The Rest is Silence Photo by Emma Critchley. Model: Tegen Hitchens. Dress: Joanne Fleming Designs 21 King Lear Photo by Helen Warner 22 Shakespeare: Staging the World Glass enamelled with pantaloon fi gure. Venice or Antwerp, c.1600. © The Trustees of the British Museum 22 Teacher Inset Photo by Gina Print 23 Education Conference Large photo by Stewart Hemley; small photo by Rob Freeman 24 Remaking Shakespeare Photo by Ed Moore 28 Open Stages Large photo by Stewart Hemley; smaller images by Farrows Creative

Designed and printed by Dewynters. To book tickets for performances in the World Shakespeare Festival, please visit the website or contact the Box Offi ce of the venue where the production is being performed, which is listed underneath each production. There is no central Box Offi ce for the World Shakespeare Festival, so please go to worldshakespearefestival.org.uk for more information on how to book.

For more information about the World Shakespeare Festival please visit worldshakespearefestival.org.uk

The Festival website includes: • Full listings of all events, talks, workshops and debates supporting the productions • Information on dedicated work for students and teachers • Blogs, videos and photos of productions in development • News updates • Booking links

Stay in touch and get involved: Sign up for the regular email updates at worldshakespearefestival.org.uk

Find us on Facebook facebook.com/worldshakespearefestival

Follow us on Twitter twitter.com/wsf2012

Printed in September 2011. Every effort is made to ensure that the information remains correct, however please check with individual venues and companies for full and fi nal details. RSC registered charity number 212481