All the World's a Stage

This post originated almost 6 months back - honoring the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. That is a monumental number celebrating a monumental figure. It called for a celebration and the Globe Theater, original site where many of his works premiered, took the helm. It is also fitting that this recently renovated theater sits only 750 feet from where the original was constructed back in 1599!

The project is called the Complete Walk and ambitiously sets all of his works as short films of 10 minutes, utilizing some of Great Britain's most esteemed actors. Even more astounding is the attempt to set many of these films at sites around the world where the original scenes were set. Dominic West portrays Coriolanus at Ostia Antica, the harbor city of ancient Rome; Jonathan Pryce as Shylock in the Merchant of Venice at Banco Rosso in the Jewish ghetto of Venice and David Harewood as Othello in Famagusta in north Cyprus. They also filmed at the Red Pyramid in Egypt for Antony and Cleopatra, the Tomba di Giulietta in Verona for Romeo and Juliet, Glamis Castle in Scotland for Macbeth and the Acropolis in Greece for Timon of Athens. How monumental is that? The intent was for them to play as a looped walking exhibit at stations along the Thames where pedestrians could stroll from one on to the next.

The traveling Fest played both Liverpool and London, as well as cities in Spain and even Poland and Egypt. But no plans of a US installation. There are a few scattered clips on YouTube of Timon of Athens, King Lear and Richard II shown here. But sadly, there is currently not a vehicle to expose this great project to other masses eager to see them.