books
Shakespeare project to mark 400th anniversary
A special project will be presented at the London Book Fair to commemorate William Shakespeare's 400th death anniversary. – AFP Relaxnews pic, April 17, 2015.A long-gestating project to mark the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death launches a collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) this week at the London Book Fair.
Vintage Hogarth Shakespeare has been slowly revealing details of its star-studded publishing plans, which will see a host of famous authors try their hand at retellings of the Bard's classics.
In October, Jeanette Winterson will start out with a retelling of "The Winter's Tale" called "The Gap of Time," which publisher Random House says will take readers "from London, a city reeling after the 2008 financial crash, to a storm-ravaged city in the US called New Bohemia".
Three novels will follow in 2016, the anniversary year: Howard Jacobson's "The Merchant of Venice," Anne Tyler's "The Taming of the Shrew" and Margaret Atwood's "The Tempest".
Other previously announced plans include Gillian Flynn on "Hamlet," Jo Nesbo on "Macbeth" and Tracy Chevalier retelling "Othello".
The novels are to be published simultaneously across the English-speaking world in print, digital and audio formats.
Announced during the London Book Fair, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is collaborating on the project, with a kick-off taking place at the Fair in the form of a performance of "Othello".
Other RCS plans include an August panel debate at the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in which Howard Jacobson will discuss religious tension and prejudice as they relate to "The Merchant of Venice" and the present day, as well as a series of co-curated talks at the Cheltenham Literature Festival in October and further public events planned for 2016.
On the RSC's upcoming schedule are new productions of "Othello" and "The Merchant of Venice" at Stratford-upon-Avon as well as a major event at the Barbican in January 2016 to mark the anniversary: "King and Country: Shakespeare's Great Cycle of Kings," presenting the tetralogy of history plays from "Richard II" to "Henry V". – AFP Relaxnews, April 17, 2015.
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