Born on April 23rd, 1564, William Shakespeare, the world's most renowned poet and playwright is celebrating his 450th birthday. To commemorate his works, the National center for the Performing Arts gives us a preview of the famed plays that have made his career.
Salute, Shakespeare! The National Center for the Performing Arts has invited 9 Shakespeare's plays, written or adapted, both from home and abroad, paying tribute to the 450th anniversary of one of the greatest playwrights in the world of literature.
The first play of the Shakespeare Commemoration Performances is "Dunsinane", a coproduction of National theatre of Scotland & Royal Shakespeare Company. Written by David Greig, the story follows the Shakespeare's "Macbeth". The plot is a vision of one man's attempt to restore peace in a country ravaged by war, as the commanding officer finds himself drawn towards the tyrant's powerful widow in search of someone to share his burden of responsibility.
"I'm so glad to be here in China with this wonderful play. We were so thrilled last summer when people from China came to see our performance and liked to bring it here to you. And we hope that people of China will find the things to love that we have found. And I'm very very thrilled and honored to be here to be part of this, first production of national theater of Scotland here in China," actress Siobhan Redmond said.
Coming up after that is the play by Beijing People's Art Theatre, "The Tragedy of Coriolanu." Veteran actor Pu Xunxin plays the lead character and says he is no stranger to Shakespeare's works as he played Hamlet decades ago.
"What we can do is guide audiences to the world of Shakespeare's works, let them feel the dilemmas faced by the characters created by the great master. Then they know more about the art and about themselves. To me, Shakespeare is a philosopher of playwright," actor Pu Cunxin said.
"Dunsinane" will meet audiences on Tuesday and Wednesday while the other eight plays and operas will commerate the playwright's 450 anniversary in the following months.
