Festival Director's Blog
Follow the World Shakespeare Festival journey with Festival Director Deborah Shaw's blog, taking us behind the scenes of the Festival as many of the WSF productions continue their creative journeys both in the UK and abroad.
Check here for updates, photos, videos and more information on the companies and venues involved in the Festival, and let us know what you’re excited about seeing as part of WSF in the comments. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
Festival Director's Blog: Wondering...
20/02/2012
As director of The Dark Side of Love Renato Rocha visits London to work with his company of teenagers at the Roundhouse, he guest- blogs his thoughts and impressions as a Brazilian artist far from home…
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Festival Director's Blog: 'Till the sky falls down to the earth'
16/12/2011
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Stories, stories, swirl around in the Baghdad dust. Folk stories, the stories of Mohammed, the betrayal of Hussein, rumour, gossip and conspiracy theories.
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Festival Director's Blog: In the Red Zone
08/12/2011
Next day we have an invitation to lunch at the British Embassy with the Director of the Iraqi office of the British Council and to meet the Ambassador.
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Festival Director's Blog: Baghdad
21/11/2011
Last time I flew into the city it was late at night.
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Festival Director's Blog: Getting started...
10/11/2011
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The messages start to come through from Comms: Deborah, you are going to start your blog, aren’t you?
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles
Tom Piper is the Olivier Award-winning Associate Designer at the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is designing Iqbal Khan's production of Much Ado About Nothing for the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Noel Coward Theatre, London next year.
Tom is also working alongside the team designing Shakespeare: Staging the World - The BP Exhibition at the British Museum as part of the World Shakespeare Festival.
Tom's blog will take us from his initial research, designs and ideas through to the opening of Much Ado About Nothing on 26 July and the opening of the British Museum exhibition on 19 July.
Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Costume design
22/03/2012
We have had Himani, the costume designer we met in Delhi, over for a week of meetings and costume research.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: 'What is this made of?'
06/03/2012
Have to get something ready for next Tuesday when Pete Griffin (Production Manager) and Alan Bartlett (Head of Construction and Technical Design) are coming to look at the model.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Producer's Perspective
01/03/2012
RSC Producer Kevin Fitzmaurice offers his perspective on our recent research trip to India.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: 'If in doubt, back to the text...'
27/01/2012
If in doubt, back to the text. Have had another trip to Stratford to check seating layouts and discuss how we can get the Indian costume designer over to work on the project.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Coming home
23/12/2011
On way back now and trying to take stock of it all after two more days of sensual bombardment.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Theatre of Dreams
19/12/2011
Weird day of competing impressions: beginning in crowded active muslim tombs, throwing petals on the grave with more people than seems possible to fit into a 12’x 8’ space and still have room for the shrine
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Wardrobe Malfunction
18/12/2011
Delhi hardcore! Into the old town and the most extraordinary bombardment of the senses.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles - a country of contrasts
17/12/2011
Ok you either love or hate India and at the moment I feel I love it.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: India bound
16/12/2011
Delhi at 3am we are met as arranged at the airport and discover that while we have been airborne Iqbal has got his visa approved at the last gasp, so will be joining us as planned.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Preparing for India
13/12/2011
I am off to India this week to research for Much Ado About Nothing.
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Designer's Dreams and Doodles: Endless Possibilities
12/12/2011
A trip to Stratford before we go to India to show Iqbal and Kieran, the lighting designer, around The Courtyard.
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Tracy's Travel Blog
Tracy Irish is the Education Programme Developer at the RSC for the World Shakespeare Festival. She is exploring where, how and why the world teaches Shakespeare through research, dialogue and the sharing of best practice.
The WSF education survey conducted through British Council offices around the world led to some fascinating results and formed the basis for our Wiki Shakespeare. With British Council support, Tracy is now focussing on seven countries in detail to find out more about the place of Shakespeare in their education systems: how and why he is taught and what the teachers and students think of him. We will be publicising her findings as case studies at the Worlds Together conference; a major international forum challenging and exploring the place of Shakespeare and the arts in the lives of young people across the world. The conference will take place in London, 6-8 September 2012.
The seven countries Tracy is visiting are: Brazil, China, Czech Republic, India, Oman, South Africa and the USA. This blog charts Tracy’s journey as she visits each country and meets students, teachers, artists and academics exploring what Shakespeare means in their respective education systems.
Tracy's Travel Blog: Hong Kong part two
01/05/2012
During my visit to Heep Yun school, I was taken to the drama studio.
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Hong Kong part one
24/04/2012
And so into 2012 and next I am visiting the four countries involved in our Shakespeare: A Worldwide Classroom partnership project.
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Czech Republic part two
27/01/2012
Schooling in Czech Republic divides into Elementary, which takes students through to the age of 16, and Secondary, which is generally for 16-18 years.
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Czech Republic part one
19/01/2012
Choosing a European country to focus on for my research into how and why Shakespeare is taught around the world was not easy.
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Brazil part two
16/12/2011
I first met Aimara Resende at the International Shakespeare Conference in Stratford in August 2010; now here I am staying in her beautiful farm house in the rural interior of Brazil.
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Brazil part one
02/12/2011
With dreams of sashaying along the white sands of Copacabana beach, humming ‘The girl from Ipanema,’ reality hit as I landed in Rio during a torrential rain storm...
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Oman - part two
29/11/2011
Our second cultural difference to negotiate was behaviour.
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Tracy's Travel Blog: Oman - part one
23/11/2011
As part of our WSF journey, exploring where, how and why Shakespeare is taught around the world, The Ministry of Education in Oman invited us to deliver training with their teachers.
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