Sonnet parcels, animated assassinations and hip-hop Shakespeare in night clubs: these are just some of the intriguing ingredients in next year’s celebrations in Oxford, to mark 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare – playwright, poet, actor, and arguably the greatest writer ever in the English language.
Special events are being planned around the city for Shakespeare Oxford 2016, offering an exciting array of exhibitions, drama, poetry, film showings, art, music and dance. Conferences, talks and schools projects are also included –and many of Oxfordshire’s 30-plus cultural organisations will also be joining in the party with their own anniversary contributions.
Oxford’s great creative, cultural, and educational bodies are working together to create a vibrant and inspiring festival. Our professional theatre companies will reinterpret Shakespeare’s plays, presenting some work in unusual spaces. Scholars will share their expert knowledge. Actors, artists and musicians will present their responses. And libraries, museums, bookshops, and publishers will fire our imagination and feed our minds.
Highlights of the programme:
For drama lovers, the year kicks off with Creation Theatre Company’s King Lear in Blackwell’s Norrington Room, one of three Shakespeare plays in their 2016 season.  Oxford Playhouse, The Old Fire Station, The North Wall and Pegasus Theatre will all be programming ground-breaking Shakespeare performances.
Next year holds many treats for music lovers, including Silver Sounds & Moody Food Concert promoted by Music at Oxford and Food of Love Shakespeare music and film event at SJE Arts.  Ultimate Picture Palace will present a Shakespeare Teen Movie and Musical Season as well as the best Shakespeare classic films.
Shakespeare Oxford 2016 aims to light up the City next year in new and unusual ways, turning the spotlight on a rich array of Shakespearean expertise and creative innovation. A key ingredient is collaboration, with new partnerships, new ideas and new events, inspired by Shakespeare.
The festival team includes the Bodleian Libraries, the University of Oxford English Faculty, Blackwell’s Booksellers, Oxford University Press and Experience Oxfordshire.  A wealth of Oxford’s cultural organisations are contributing to the programme, and our local authorities are also involved in welcoming all the community into this City-wide celebration.
Contact Jacqui Ibbotson 01865 686438
jacqui.ibbotson@experienceoxfordshire.org for more information