Celebrate the opening of the Globe to Globe Festival with a free Open Day at Shakespeare’s Globe on Sunday 22 April 2012 26 March 2012 Shakespeare’s Globe will host a free open day on Sunday 22 April to launch its ambitious Globe to Globe Festival, where all 37 Shakespeare plays will be performed in 37 different languages over six weeks.
In a further celebration of language, Sonnet Sunday will offer a once in a lifetime opportunity to see all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets performed in over 25 different languages, in addition to those featured in the festival. Highlights include the Aboriginal theatre company, Yirra Yaakin who will fly in from Western Australia especially for the event. They will perform a selection of sonnets in Noongar, one of the indigenous languages of Australia. Owain Arthur currently starring in One Man Two Guvnors on the West End will recite in Welsh, Czech actors will perform their sonnets using puppetry in the Czech tradition, and for the first time ever sonnets will be heard in Somali and Cree.
Other languages represented include Romanian, Swedish, Flemish, Hungarian, Gaelic, Farsi, Icelandic, Bulgarian, Arabic, Latvian and many more.
Alongside the sonnet marathon, there will be an international food market in the Underglobe, below the theatre, the stunning violin and accordion due, Bow and Bellows, Bharatanatyam dancers from Northern India and the beautiful a’cappella world choir, the Wing-It Singers performing an eclectic mix of songs, many from Eastern Europe and Georgia. Visitors will also be able to explore the permanent Globe Exhibition experiencing the London that Shakespeare would have lived in.
All activities and entry are free, offering the perfect Sunday out for the whole family. Doors will open at 10am with last admittance at 4.30pm. In the evening the final performance of Venus & Adonis, Shakespeare’s dramatic poem performed by the world renowned Isango Ensemble from Cape Town will take place at 6.30pm. Tickets are available from just £5. EDITORS NOTES For further information contact Rebecca Storey, Senior Press & PR Officer for Shakespeare’s Globe on +0044 207 902 1492 or email Rebecca.s@shakespearesglobe.com.
Globe Exhibition and Tour is open all year round. For more information visit www.shakespearesglobe.com/exhibition