Ha Noi, world cheer bard�s birthday

(22-04-2008)

Bloody good show: A scene from the play Macbeth by artists from the Youth Theatre. � VNS File Photo

HA NOI � Ha Noi�s Youth Theatre will join in a worldwide celebration tomorrow of William Shakespeare�s 444th birthday with a performance of an abridged version of the Bard�s famous Scottish play, Macbeth.

The international event, entitled Shakespeare 24, is an extraordinary worldwide day of performance organised by the Shakespeare School Festival in London.

The festival is a unique arts education initiative which enables young people to perform abridged productions of Shakespeare�s most famous plays in their local professional theatres.

Kicking off in New Zealand and ending 24 hours later in Hawaii, 65 youth theatres and school groups from 35 countries will stage abridged plays at 7pm in their respective time zones on Wednesday, April 23, Shakespeare�s birthday.

From Mexico to Malawi, Russia to Rio, the cultural baton will be passed around the world in a day.

In England, the city of Liverpool, 2008�s "Capital of Culture," is a Shakespear 24 event partner and will broadcast highlights of the performances.

Receiving the invitation from the organising board last year, Ha Noi�s Youth Theatre artists have a rare opportunity to revive a classic play.

Macbeth, written by Shakespeare in 1606-07, is a story of murderous ambition set in 11th century Scotland.

The Youth Theatre production tomorrow is based on the production staged by veteran director Le Hung in 2002 and given 68 performanes, including at festivals in Beijing and Shanghai in 2003 and 2005, said the theatre�s deputy director, Truong Nhuan.

The production was enthusiastically received in China, Nhuan said, especially due to the Asian theatrical motifs used in the scene depicting the death of Macbeth�s wife.

"The play is very Vietnamese in character because director Le Hung used dances from Vietnamese tuong (classical opera)," Nhuan said.

In the play�s title role, actor Anh Tu said, "I�m very enthusiastic to play Macbeth as I have played in many other classic plays from around the world and Viet Nam. I am very proud to play this role and I try to express the character of Macbeth, who is very talented but overly ambitious. I like the cause and effect of the play." � VNS

Labels: jaime i, shakespear, shakespeare, shakespeare as you like it, shakespeare birthday

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