DramaLit Blog 1.0: BU School of Theatre

Ever wake in the middle of the night wondering what Shakespeare’s “Cymbeline” would sound like in Juba Arabic or pondering the effect of the Polish language on a production of Macbeth? Well, find yourself a plane ticket to London NOW (some of you might already be there)! Starting April 23 (Shakespeare’s birthday), at The Globe Theatre in London and lasting for six weeks the “Globe to Globe” festival consists of 37 different versions of Shakespeare’s plays performed in 37 different languages. Representing the United States in this festival is the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre who will be performing a hip-hop version of “Othello”. Along with Chicago’s Othello there will be, among others, “the Merry Wives of Windsor” performed in Swahili, all three parts of “Henry VI” performed collectively by the national theaters of Serbia, Albania and Macedonia and “Love’s Labor’s Lost” performed in British Sign Language. In preparation for the 2012 olympic games London seems to have already outdone itself in international spectacle as people from around the globe gather to admire the work of one of the world’s most influential playwrights and celebrate the human experience.