Henry VI premiers in Tirana before traveling to London

TIRANA, April 24 – The National Theatre is premiering part II of Shakespeare’s Henry VI this weekend in Tirana just before its participation in London’ s Globe to Globe festival. The stage at the National Theatre for three consecutive evenings from April 27 to 29 at 20.00 is a test for the Albanian troupe starring veteran actors Ndricim Xhepa, Bujar Asqeriu, Yllka Mujo and Ahmet Pasha.
“Since the early days of the new Republic, the National Theatre of Albania has opened its repertoire to foreign plays, and experimented with forbidden authors. In the past twenty years they have performed plays from Albania and elsewhere to wide acclaim. Director Adonis Filipi will direct Shakespeare’s great meditation on riot and rebellion,” says Globe to Globe on its website.
Beginning on 21 April 2012, the Globe will present an unprecedented programme of multi-lingual Shakespeare productions as part of a once-in-a-lifetime celebration for the London 2012 festival. Revelling in the vast array of communities and languages that make-up London’s vibrant cultural landscape, 37 international companies will present every one of Shakespeare’s plays in a different language over six weeks.
The Albanian Theatre will perform at the Globus Theatre on May 12 and 13 2012, part II of Shakespare’s Henry VI known as the Balkan Trilogy. Henry VI, Part I and Part III will be staged by Serbia’s and Macedonia’s National Theaters.
The Globe to Globe season, part of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival, is unique and exclusive, being the first time Shakespeare’s full works have been presented back-to-back in entirely different languages.
Former British Ambassador to Albania Fiona McIlwham said that “Albania hits well above its weight in the quality and range of its contributions across the range of creative arts, and this is recognised by the invitation to join 36 other companies from around the world in presenting Shakespeare’s 37 plays in 37 different languages. It is a great honour for the Albanian National Theatre to become part of that great and long tradition.”
Almost 400 years after his death, Shakespeare remains a global icon and a British national treasure. His works have been translated into hundreds of languages and are well-known around the world. Since the Globe Theatre opened in 1997, it has become an international focus point for the study of Shakespeare, and has gained a reputation for excellence in performance and historical study.
Moreover, as part of the Globe’s examination of language on stage, for the first time in history a Shakespeare play will be performed entirely in British Sign Language, bringing together deaf and hearing audiences together as one.