The theme-Shakespeare Lives in 2016-was no way an exaggeration.
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The all-star Shakespeare Live! event, which featured the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ian McKellen, and Dame Judi Dench was followed by a feast for the eyes as crowds were treated to a special firework display outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
The search engine, Google has doodled the world famous British playwright marking Shakespeare’s 400 death anniversary.
“I don’t think we’ve scratched the surface of how much Shakespeare can do in the world”.
As Britain continued to mull its future in the 27-member European bloc, US President Barack Obama visited the Globe Theater in London to pay tribute to the English bard, whose death 400 years ago was being commemorated on April 23.
He reportedly told them, “Let me shake hands with everyone”.
Playing a key role in this year’s landmark anniversary is the Royal Shakespeare Company, whose grand Stratford theatre on the banks of the River Avon continues to stage the Bard’s plays in sell-out performances, in a testament to his on-going popularity.
Focal points for the celebrations include Shakespeare’s family home in Stratford, where it is assumed he was born in 1564, and the Holy Trinity Church, where he was buried. “We don’t. We actually have all the angst, the love and the fear – everything that goes with Shakespeare and what came out of that time is still relevant to every single person alive and here today”, he said.
Obama on Saturday declared stripped-down version of famous play, performed by actors in street clothes, “wonderful”.
Dominic Dromgoole, outgoing artistic director of the Globe, put Shakespeare’s enduring appeal down to “fantastic stories that sit at the heart of human experience in all forms”. The choice of the play was critical as most Shakespeare’s writings have fights and betrayals, something you don’t want the children to be introduced to yet. Which is only another way of saying that Shakespeare, at once timeless and universal, speaks for the world.
From Dubai to Las Vegas, Shakespeare’s plays packed out theatres to mark the occasion, highlighting his worldwide appeal.
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Costumed mourners rallied in Gdansk in Poland to mark the anniversary, dressed in black with their faces painted white.
