麻豆约拍

It was a wonderful teacher who unlocked the magic of Shakespeare for me by bringing his work to life. That is what the 麻豆约拍 aims to do this 400th anniversary weekend with help from stars like Dame Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch, Adrian Lester, Meera Syaal and many, many more. 

Our big ambition for the 400th anniversary is to make Shakespeare’s work irresistible to all our audiences. I truly believe our festival will offer something for everyone.  This weekend audiences can join us through live events in Stratford, Birmingham and elsewhere in the West Midlands, or via landmark dramas with the best of British acting talent, through learning events up and down the country, new documentaries into the world of Shakespeare, musical collaborations and a myriad of children’s projects online.

It really is a fresh look at Shakespeare for everyone. We have landmark television dramas like the reimagined Midsummer Night’s Dream on 麻豆约拍 One, adapted by Russell T Davies and starring Maxine Peake as Titania and Matt Lucas as Bottom.

Over on 麻豆约拍 Two this May, The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s History Plays stars Tom Sturridge as Henry VI and Benedict Cumberbatch as Richard III.

Upstart Crow also on 麻豆约拍 Two is written by Ben Elton and is a comedy based on Shakespeare’s life starring David Mitchell as Shakespeare.

Meanwhile in factual programming on 麻豆约拍 One, The Best Bottoms in the Land (the character, not the posterior variety) follows the Royal Shakespeare Company’s search for actors across the UK to play Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Over on 麻豆约拍 Four Redefining Juliet follows the Creative Director and wheelchair user Storme Toolis (above) and her cast of actors, all with disabilities and differences in the lead role, as they attempt to bring a new interpretation of Romeo and Juliet to the stage.

The celebrations start this weekend. On Saturday 23 April at 8:30pm we’ll have a very ambitious live event broadcast on 麻豆约拍 Two and around the world called  hosted by David Tennant and Catherine Tate. The show celebrates Shakespeare’s plays and their enduring influence on all performance art forms - from opera to jazz, dance to musicals. It features a staggering list of acting talent including Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tim Minchin, John Lithgow, David Suchet, Rory Kinnear, Joseph Fiennes, the cast of ‘Horrible Histories’. Partners who are working with us include The Royal Ballet, English National Opera (ENO), Birmingham Royal Ballet and Stratford-upon-Avon’s Orchestra of the Swan amongst others.

In radio, broadcasting live from a pop-up studio, 麻豆约拍 Radio 3 is resident in Stratford with , looking at his culture through music and performance. Highlights include the premiere of a new work by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, as well as performances from the 麻豆约拍 Singers from Guild Chapel and Rufus Wainwright will perform in a special World on 3. In the oncoming weeks there will also be new plays including Naomi Alderman's 

In the weeks that follow there will also be new plays including Naomi Alderman's Wolf on Water which imagines a world for Shylock’s daughter, reimagined sonnets set to music by the 麻豆约拍 Philharmonic, and there’s an all Scottish production of King Lear featuring Ian McDiarmid’s first ever casting as Lear.

Over on 麻豆约拍 Radio 4 they look at love across the racial divide in Shakespeare’s plays as well as his influence in India and relevance today.

Alongside our broadcasting, we’ll be experimenting live with digital formats like never before through , which launches a six-month online festival in partnership with the British Council bringing together the most comprehensive collection of interpretations of Shakespeare’s work in one digital space. We’re aiming to bring the best of Shakespeare to the world for over six months.  Highlights of  will be made available on 麻豆约拍 iPlayer and it is also the first time programmes from not-for-profit arts organisations will have been brought to wider audiences through the 麻豆约拍 in this way. Infrared analysis of ‘Will’s Will’ uncovers new secrets about Shakespeare, you can download emojis to liven up texts and tweets, and 麻豆约拍 Sport are encouraging those running marathons this weekend and participating in other sporting events to generate bespoke inspirational quotes through #shakespeareme.

Online contributions for Shakespeare Lives come from the Royal Opera House, Shakespeare’s Globe, the BFI, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Hay Festival and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The cast lined-up for the festival includes Mel Giedroyc, Meera Syal, Peter Capaldi, Adrian Lester, Germaine Greer, Ralph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, Lauren Cuthbertson, Edward Watson, the 麻豆约拍 Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the 麻豆约拍 Concert Orchestra, amongst many others .

Like a great play, we could not put on this extravaganza without a remarkable cast of players. We’ve worked with some of the best partners in the business for our celebrations including the Royal Shakespeare Company, The British Council, the Royal Opera House, Hay Festival and the British Film Institute.

We all want more people to enjoy Shakespeare than ever before by interpreting his work in bold ways and placing it at the heart of the schedules – across TV, radio and online –  and we hope that audiences will enjoy discovering new, exciting aspects and interpretations of arguably the greatest playwright who ever lived.

Whilst I’ve run through some of the highlights in this blog, there’s so much more to see and do, so I urge everyone to look online at our .

It’s truly extraordinary to see the organisation coming together in this way. David Tennant eloquently said back at our launch in January that the characters in Shakespeare’s stories are 'catnip for actors'. My hope is that our celebrations and interpretations of Shakespeare’s work will be so irresistible they will be catnip for our audiences too.