From 4 July to 3 September 2014, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust teamed up with University of Warwick and Misfit, Inc. for a project which engaged with Shakespeare-making across North America.
Four of us travelled 10,000 miles and visited 14 Shakespeare festivals.We saw 42 productions, and interviewed 150 people. This primary research project promised four major outcomes:
- New audiences and engagement with Shakespeare's Birthplace America (an initiative which was launched as part of the project).
- An archive of Shakespeare-making across the 14 festivals through oral history and theatrical records over the two anniversary years (from 2014-2016).
- A book about our travels (forthcoming).
- A radio documentary based our experiences and findings.
The radio documentary has been produced by locally-based Quidem Radio and will be aired on Classic FM on Monday 4 July. It features 5 of the 14 festivals, and will give a great sense of the excitement of the trip as well as our on-going understanding of what Shakespeare means to the people of North America.
You'll be able to hear from:
- The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane (who because of Shakespeare on the Road brought the jazz-band over for this year's birthday celebrations).
- Will Geer's Theatricum Botanicum in the Topanga Valley, Los Angeles.
- The Harlem Shakespeare Festival.The Nashville Shakespeare Festival.
- The Stratford Festival, Ontario
The programme is introduced by Maxine Peake (herself a memorable Hamlet in 2014), and co-presented by Paul Edmondson (Head of Research and Knowledge at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust) and Paul Prescott (University of Warwick).
Visit the Classic FM Website to read more about Shakespeare on the Road with Maxine Peake.