At 30 years of existence, The International Shakespeare Festival, Craiova transforms the city into a huge outdoor stage and occasions audience participation in the Shakespearean performancein the outdoor shows and of the performances built by the independent scene in the city around the concept of pop-ups.
Tiger Lillies concert at the opening of the Festival
The series of outdoor events kicks off on Thursday, May 16, from 8:45 p.m., in William Shakespeare Square, with a concert by The Tiger Lillies.
Between May 16 and 26, the city of Craiova becomes a huge stage where, at every step, people will find installations, parades, improvisational performances and famous scenes from the work of William Shakespeare. The more than 100 outdoor performances are joined by more than 50 pop-up performances, where the community will be part of the performances, right in the vicinity of the house:
“Pop-up Shakespeare challenges independent artists from Craiova and all over the world, creating a very strong independent scene and very close to Craiova communities, taking place both in public squares, parks, streets, sidewalks, even in houses and courtyards of blocks of flats. It is a way in which the public in the community gets involved in the organization of the performances, starting from their construction – people can contribute with pieces of furniture or props – and going up to artistic involvement in the performances”, said Vlad Drăgulescu, president of the International Shakespeare Festival.
Citizens of Craiova, invited to become part of the production of pop-up shows
Pop Up Shakespeare is based on the concept of community theater, and the festival team undertook the mission of mapping the city to identify no less than 50 urban points. If in the previous editions of the Shakespeare Festival the theater also reached the city’s neighborhoods with performances, this time, people are invited to build the show, together with the artists. Among the performances within Pop Up Shakespeare you can find “Romeo and Juliet”, “The Taming of the Shrew”, “Jesters’ Fools”, “The Home Reckoning Doesn’t Add Up…after the Night of the Burglary” or “The Tragic Story of Prius and Timpea”.
Which shows will be able to be viewed outdoors
The outdoor program will not miss the performances “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, from the Stela Popescu Theater in Bucharest – a show in which Shakespeare is our contemporary, “Romeo and Juliet” – a reinterpretation of the famous love story, from the MedACT band of the students of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Craiova, “And if it wasn’t a dream?” Urban alternative to the classic Summer Dream, from the ALT EU company, Teatru Comunitar – a modern and vibrant adaptation for community theatre.
Other productions are “Smashed”, by the British company Dandini Juggling, with jugglers and a soundtrack inspired by Pina Bausch’s tanztheater, “Maclownbeth”, from Projecte Longànime, Spain, a visceral tragicomedy seen through the eyes of four clowns, “Las horas negras, Shakespeare en miniatura” (Dark hours, Shakespeare in miniature), Chile/Spain production of the company La Roma Teatre or “Stow Pipe Band” – a band using bagpipes, bass guitar, drums from Stow, Scotland, or “Kraken Orchestra”, by the French company Systeme Paprika, a combination of theater and music.
Shakespeare Pop-up Outdoor Program
The program of outdoor pop-up shows can be consulted here: http://www.shakespearefestival.online/outdoor-pop-up/.
Being this year in its 30th year of existence, the International Shakespeare Festival, Craiova, will add up to over 300 performances and events and will bring together some of the biggest names of world-class theater directors of the moment, including Robert Wilson, Declan Donnellan, Peter Brook or Robert Lepage.
READ ALSO: “Excuse me, do you speak Polish?” Pop-Up Theater between the blocks, at the Craiova Shakespeare Festival
Tags: International Shakespeare Festival fills Craiova invites public part street performances
-
