The International Shakespeare Festival in Romania
The International Shakespeare Festival is underway in the south-western city of Craiova, one of the most important events of the kind in Romania and in Europe.
Valentin Țigău, 25.04.2014, 13:15
On Wednesday, April 23rd, when it was 450 years since William Shakespeare, the best known playwright in the world was born, the London-based Globe Theatre opened the 9th edition of the International Shakespeare Festival held in Craiova under the motto “Shakespeare for All”. This year’s festive edition will have a predominantly British component. “Shakespeare’s Globe”, which has become an attraction of Great Britain, is going to present several performances in the 12 days of the festival. The Globe Theatre opened the festival with the production “Much Ado about Nothing” directed by Max Webster. Also on April 23rd, the British playwright’s statue by Romanian sculptor Rodion Gheorghita was unveiled in William Shakespeare Square in Craiova. On Thursday, the Budapest National Theatre performed “As You Like It’ directed by Romanian Silviu Purcarete.
Participating in the festival are other valuable troupes like the “Vahtangov Theatre” of Russia or the National Theatre of China, as well as theatre companies, schools and Philarmonic orchestras from South Africa, Lithuania, Armenia, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine and Romania. “It is the first Romanian theatre festival of European scope”, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Valeriu Zgonea said at the opening of the festival. He went on to say that the festival played a major role in the battle fought by Craiova for getting the status of European Capital of Culture in 2021. The programme of the festival also includes a session of Shakespearean studies, the International Shakespeare Conference, workshops, photo and fine art exhibitions, book launches.
On Sunday, as part of the section “Hamlet Rehearses”, Radio Romania will have a radio drama show directed by Mihai Lungeanu with acting students joining established actors. The production is designed to be a Shakespearean “rehearsal” supervised by the prompter, an exercise of theatrical fantasy, a mix of tragic lucidity and buffoonery. The International Shakespeare Festival in Craiova is connected with another cultural event that took place on Wednesday: World Book Day, commemorating three foremost writers under UNESCO sponsorship: William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes and Inca de la Vega; they are joined by the late Columbian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who died last week.
