Celebrating Shakespeare

"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man."
-- William Shakespeare

Did you know that this year is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death? It's hard to imagine a world without Shakespeare. He gave us so many riches -- language, poetry, drama, love stories, tragedies, comedies, and countless memorable characters. His plays continue to captivate us. There are celebrations occurring all around the world to mark the anniversary. Here in the states, the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. will be the most exciting place to celebrate the Bard. The Wonder of Will: 400 Years of Shakespeare will celebrate Shakespeare and his extraordinary legacy through lectures, exhibitions, special events, and performances throughout the year. The First Folio, which is the book that gave us Shakespeare, is going on the road and will be traveling all around the country. Go here to see the schedule. This precious tome will make an appearance in California in June at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. I hope to make it there! Here are some highlights of what is happening at the Folger:

1) "Shakespeare, The Story of an Icon": Despite the fact that there are no photographs of Shakespeare or recordings of his voice, this exhibition creates a vivid portrait of the man through a stunning array of documents from his own lifetime. Go here to see a fantastic time-lapsed installation of this exhibition.

2) "Shakespeare's Life Stories": a lecture by renowned Shakespeare scholar Stephen Greenblatt.

3) "Shakespeare Unlimited": a series of podcasts by scholars exploring why Shakespeare's stories still resonate. They examine how the works, written so long ago, still speak to us today. I have listened to a couple of these and they are fascinating.

Go here to learn more.

And in Britain...

As you can imagine they are going all out in England. Lectures, performances, exhibitions, screenings, you name it. The schedule really is impressive. Go here to learn all that Shakespeare 400 has planned. Some highlights:

1) Exhibitions: "Shakespeare in Ten Acts" at The British Library. This will be a landmark exhibition on the making of an icon, charting Shakespeare's constant reinvention across the centuries.

2) Performances: "Much Ado About Nothing" in London. This production is set in 1945 at the end of World War II.

3) Talks: "The Grace of Plants: Shakespeare and Botany" at the Southwark Cathedral

4) Talks: "Shakespeare on Film." This series of talks will explore the inspirational influence of Shakespeare on filmmakers across the world, featuring films from the silent era, award-winning adaptations and contemporary interpretations of the Bard's work.

Go here to learn more.

Lily James and Richard Madden in the upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet

This summer Kenneth Branagh is directing a production of Romeo and Juliet in London starring Lily James, Richard Madden, and Derek Jacobi. This should be fabulous. Go here to learn more.

Ralph Fiennes in "The Tempest," 2011

I began to think about the memorable live performances of Shakespeare I have seen over the years. Here are a few that were breathtaking:

The Tempest with Ralph Fiennes at Theatre Royal Haymarket in London
A Midsummer Night's Dream with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles  

King Lear at the Ashland Shakespeare Festival in Oregon

Much Ado About Nothing at the Globe Theater in London

Othello at UCLA in Los Angeles

I also adore Prokofiev's ballet of Romeo and Juliet and see it whenever I have a chance.

And there have been so many beautiful film adaptations -- Zeffirelli's Romeo and Juliet and Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing, Hamlet and Henry V. Kenneth Branagh has given us many great Shakespeare productions, both on film and on the stage. His upcoming stage production of Romeo and Juliet will continue the tradition.

By the way, researching this blog post was a perfect example of falling down the rabbit hole of the Internet. But it turned out to be a good thing. After sitting in awe (and feeling a bit overwhelmed!) as page after page of links on the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare came up, I whittled it down to a few that looked fabulous. I then saw one from the Huffington Post which I almost skipped. Thank goodness I clicked that one as it led me to the discovery that right here in Los Angeles there will be a fabulous one night only performance An Evening of Shakespeare: Murder, Lust, & Madness  in honor of the anniversary. If you live in L.A. and love the Bard, be sure to get a ticket before it sells out. This should be amazing!

I hope all this whets your appetite for attending some of these wonderful events in honor of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare. It should be a glorious year-long celebration and a look into why Shakespeare continues to matter. It is sure to remind us of why the Bard still inspires, enlightens and entertains!