The biggest ever festival of Shakespeare to take place in Britain

A celebration of Shakespeare as the world’s playwright runs from 23 April – the Bard’s birthday – to November 2012. The World Shakespeare Festival is produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations. Thousands of artists from around the world will take part in nearly 70 productions, plus supporting events and exhibitions, right across the UK. More than one million tickets are on sale for the biggest celebration of Shakespeare ever staged.

At the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, the home of the RSC, nine of Shakespeare’s plays will be performed as part of the festival: Richard III (to 15 September), King John (to 15 September), Twelfth Night (to 6 October), The Comedy of Errors (to 6 October), The Tempest (to 7 October), Julius Caesar 28 May–7 July, Much Ado about Nothing (26 July–15 September), Troilus and Cressida (3–18 August) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (10–18 August). Stratford will also see new works inspired by Shakespeare’s plays, including Romeo and Juliet in Baghdad by the Iraqi Theatre Company (26 April–5 May) and the Brazilian Companhia Bufomecânica’s Two Roses for Richard III (7–12 May).


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