Britain remembers William Shakespeare
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E-mail CNTV, April 29, 2014
To be or not to be, is one of Shakespeare's most famous quotes. During the week of his 450th birthday, CCTV reporter visits the bard's hometown of Stratford Upon Avon, and attends the launch of an ambitious global tour by Shakespeare's Globe theatre company.
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Britain remembers William Shakespeare |
"This is an exact replica of the theatre Shakespeare would have been performing in over 400 years ago. There is therefore no better location from which to launch the global tour," said reporter Ma Shuo.
For many actors, playing a Shakespearean character is the highlight of their career. What better then, to be an actor touring 200 countries with a slimmed down version of Hamlet? The producer has put together an ambitious schedule that will take the crew around the world and back within a 2 year period.
"We have created a touring aesthetic that we think is how the theatre companies used to tour in the abroad in the 16 and 17 centuries, the companies that SP would have worked in. It's a very lightfoot model, only 12 actors, it's cut down to around 2 hours and 40 minutes, uncut hamlet is about 4 hours, all the actors play musical instruments themselves, and the company carries around the whole show themselves," said Tom Bird, Exe. Producer of the Global Theatre.
For the actors, Shakespeare's demanding language makes full use of their skills, yet the plays still remain accessible. Many of the venues for the global tour have already sold out. So why exactly are people still coming to see Hamlet after all these years?
"I think because Hamlet has in it themes and ideas and issues in it that are relatable to anywhere in the world, and to people anywhere in the world. I think that it carries so much humanity, in Hamlet," said Naeem Hayat, actor of "Hamlet".
Of course, it's not just actors who love Shakespeare. The British public have just voted the Bard as the country's biggest claim to fame. That must be why over 800 thousand visitors every year come to Stratford Upon Avon to see his place of birth.
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