York International Shakespeare Festival programme

York International Shakespeare Festival
We are excited to announce the 5th edition of the York International Shakespeare Festival, running from the 21st April to 1st May in venues across the city. With over 40 live events, and others online, the programme will feature international and national performances, talks, workshops, exhibitions and discussions. There will also be Shakespeare storytelling in libraries and in schools, and a community placemaking celebration – York Loves Shakespeare.
We are delighted that the Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre from Ukraine have accepted our invitation to showcase their dynamic and uplifting production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The company will also offer workshops for students and the community and will talk about the current nature of theatre in Ukraine. We are delighted to have this company in York to not only present the quality of their work but to demonstrate the significant cultural connection that is created through international festivals.
Selected by the European Shakespeare Festival network from an International call-out, Flabbergast Theatre’s visceral and lucid ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, has garnered responses such as, “everything you want…. stuff being banged, terrifying puppets, polyphonic singing, mess, mud, noise, wine, party hats, and an amazingly talented international cast (Stewart Lee) and, “The term “physical theatre” doesn’t actually do it justice. It’s an understatement.” (Susan Elkin – The Stage)
Renowned theatre maker Tim Crouch will be presenting the five-star rated ‘Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel’, described as “a mastery of storytelling” (The Reviews Hub), and fresh from seasons on Edinburgh (Fringe First), New York and London. This is a daring modern piece. “The nature of live performance is interrogated by this innovative and imaginative theatre-maker, with a little help from a virtual reality headset and William Shakespeare” (Aleks Sierz, ‘The Arts Desk’) which explores King Lear in a post-pandemic world.
Artists from Poland, Croatia and Romania join us for a series of staged play readings of European texts that are inspired or influenced by Shakespeare or are by writers roughly contemporary to him. All are in new English translations, which are receiving their first performances, and all three are being heard in the UK for the first time in any language.
York Shakespeare Project begin their new era with Richard III, and an innovative theatrical interpretation of Shakespeare’s long poem, here retitled Lucrece. There are lectures and talks, exhibitions across the city and storytelling in Libraries and schools, as well as the launch of a book celebrating the festival’s lockdown placemaking project York Loves Shakespeare.

For the 11 days of the festival, York will become – the city of Shakespeare, but perhaps not the Shakespeare you might expect.
Friday April 21
Right Here Right Now – Shakespeare Special, 7:30pm
An impov night filled with your ideas and suggestions, never the same show twice: you bring the ideas and watch as our amazing group of improvisers turn them into comedy – it wouldn’t be the same without you.
Saturday April 22
Shakespeare Sonnet Marathon, 11:00am
“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”? Escape into an all-day reading of every Shakespeare sonnet performed by multiple readers, you can even be a part of this event by reading one of the sonnets – see the ‘Come and Read One’ section on our website.
Pericles Prince of Tyre – film, 6:00pm
A streamlined version of a gripping story of a brave adventurer setting off to win the girl unknowing he will discover a sinister truth – Riding Lights bring to life this lesser-known Shakespeare.
Sunday April 23
Lucrece, 2:30pm and 6:00pm
A traumatic tale of a woman left in the dark as her rapist leaves, a semi – staged adaptation of Shakespeare’s poem ‘The Rape of Lucrece’, she speaks to our world… will you listen?
Book Launch – York Loves Shakespeare, 5:00pm
Launching of York Loves SHkespeare presented by York International Shakespeare Festival.
Pericles Prince of Tyre – film, 7:30pm
A streamlined version of a gripping story of a brave adventurer setting off to win the girl unknowing he will discover a sinister truth – Riding Lights bring to life this lesser-known Shakespeare.
Monday April 24
What is a European Shakespeare Festival? 2:00pm
A seminar exploring the role Shakespeare and his work play in intercultural celebration, and how Shakespeare in festival continues to be a game changer – chance for audience questions and discussions.
Lucrece, 6:00pm
A traumatic tale of a woman left in the dark as her rapist leaves, a semi – staged adaptation of Shakespeare’s poem ‘The Rape of Lucrece’, she speaks to our world… will you listen?
Tuesday April 25
In The Cauldron Boil and Bake an Owlet’s Wing, 6:00pm
Polish performer Jakub Snochowski reads the first of a series of three staged play readings of European texts inspired by Shakespeare – all in English and first time performed in the UK.
Shakespeare’s Fool, 8:00pm
Join ‘Cavaliero’ Kempe on the streets of London as he gives his final performance to an audience of a mouse and a marrote and tells the tale of his life, his rise to stardom and what really happened between him and William Shakespeare.
Wednesday April 26
Let Us Recount Our Dreams, 12:00pm
The story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream as told through many exhilarating performances and lectures.
An Introduction to Cousin Shakespeare and Romanian Theatre, 4:30pm
An introduction to Cousin Shakespeare by Professor Nicoleta Cinpoes and Dr Sorin Cazacu where they will discuss the play, the playwright, and the theatrical conventions under which he worked.
Cousin Shakespeare, 6:00pm
The second of a series of three staged play readings of European texts that are inspired or influenced by Shakespeare, all in English translations being heard in the UK for the first time.
Richard III, 7:30pm
Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester craves the ultimate power and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal, Daniel Roy Connelly’s bold interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest villians.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, 8:00pm
In this classic tale of greed and guilt, Flabbergast’s Macbeth fuses a rigorous and respectful approach to text and storytelling to bring a magical, lucid interpretation of Shakespeare’s blood-soaked tragedy to life.
Thursday April 27
Everything to Everybody, an Introduction to the Birmingham Shakespeare Memorial Library, 12:00pm and 2:00pm
Join Lauren Jansen-Parkes, ‘Everything to Everybody’s’ Community Engagement and Volunteer Officer for a whistle-stop tour of the collection.
An Introduction to the Work of Marin Drzic (1508-1567) and to his life in Dubrovnik, 5:00pm
The third of a series of three staged play readings of European texts that are inspired by Shakespeare, this staged reading of A Fool Fooled is directed by Jacob Ward and will be followed by a Q&A.
Old Stan or a Fool Fooled, 6:00pm
The third of a series of three staged play readings of European texts that are inspired by Shakespeare, this staged reading of A Fool Fooled is directed by Jacob Ward and will be followed by a Q&A.
Richard III, 7:30pm
Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester craves the ultimate power and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal, Daniel Roy Connelly’s bold interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest villains.
Friday April 28
Richard III, 7:30pm
Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester craves the ultimate power and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal, Daniel Roy Connelly’s bold interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest villians.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 8:00pm
A Midsummer Night’s Dream told in the context of a Ukrainian traditional rite, establishing parallels with historical stories by changing the major characters from Greeks to Ukrainians – leaving the foundation to Shakespeare, onstage reality melts into legend.
Shaking All Over, 10:00pm
Round off your festival day with a rollicking quick-fire burst of Shakespearian comic delight – golden highlights, songs, jokes and sketches, bouncing affectionately off the greatest poetic dramatist the world has ever known.
Saturday April 29
Open Workshop, 10:00am
An open workshop for actors and theatre makers from York, an opportunity to work with the team from Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre – during the 2-hour session the actors and creative team will share insights into their theatre making methods and the different training actors undertake.
Making Theatre in Ukraine Today, 12:00pm
A Q&A with members of the Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre – a chance to ask questions about the state of theatre making in Ukraine today, a unique insight into what it’s like to be an artist living and working in a time of war.
Shakespeare and Sanctuary, 2:00pm
With short presentations, panel discussions and Q&A’s, we will cover a wide range of ways that Shakespeare can be a haven, including the safety of festival stages, Shakespeare in women’s prisons, and Shakespeare as a form of resistance to censorship and persecution.
Richard III, 2:30pm and 7:30pm
Jealous and crippled, Richard of Gloucester craves the ultimate power and uses manipulation and deceit to achieve his goal, Daniel Roy Connelly’s bold interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s greatest villians.
Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel – Tim Crouch, 8:00pm
A daringly unaccommodated piece of theatre that switches between scathingly funny stand-up and an audacious act of collective imagining, a celebration of live performance and a skewering of the state we’re in now.
Shaking All Over, 10:00pm
Round off your festival day with a rollicking quick-fire burst of Shakespearian comic delight – golden highlights, songs, jokes and sketches, bouncing affectionately off the greatest poetic dramatist the world has ever known.
Sunday April 30
Pericles Prince of Tyre – film, 5:00pm
A streamlined version of a gripping story of a brave adventurer setting off to win the girl unknowing he will discover a sinister truth – Riding Lights bring to life this lesser-known Shakespeare.
Shaking All Over, 7:30pm
Round off your festival day with a rollicking quick-fire burst of Shakespearian comic delight – golden highlights, songs, jokes and sketches, bouncing affectionately off the greatest poetic dramatist the world has ever known.
Monday May 1
Shaking All Over, 7:30pm
Round off your festival day with a rollicking quick-fire burst of Shakespearian comic delight – golden highlights, songs, jokes and sketches, bouncing affectionately off the greatest poetic dramatist the world has ever known.
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Shakespeare Storytelling
A project for young people, hear the stories of The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. Check back for details.
Exhibitions
Friargate theatre: the story of York Shakespeare Project’s production of The Tempest – their 20-year journey to present all Shakespeare plays in order.
York Explore: striking theatrical images from the collection held by the Birmingham Memorial Shakespeare Library, curated by the Everything to Everybody project.
More informatiob on : http://yorkshakes.co.uk