For the first time, Chisinau hosts the International Shakespeare Festival (ISF). The event, entitled “United through Shakespeare”, started on Thursday and will last until Sunday, October 6. The public has the opportunity to admire the world’s renowned Shakespearean masters and experts at the Nameless Theatre and the National Opera and Ballet House, IPN reports.
The festival was officially launched during a press conference, where the organizers and guests presented the concept, objectives and program of the event. The ISF is staged under the patronage of Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu, of the Government and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova.
“Shakespeare’s work unites epochs, passes through the consciousness of the world like a mirror of the spirit, morality and worldly vices. It unites us and amazes us with the classical modernity of human conflicts and problems. In a threatened Europe, there is a need for unity. Not only political unity, but also spiritual, emotional, cultural, artistic one. The multinationalism of Shakespeare’s work has this force - to unite what belongs to the spirit, what is proper to emotion, to the spiritual,” said Mihai Țărnă, president of the Shakespeare Days in Chisinau Festival, artistic director and chief director of the Nameless Theatre.
In Romania, the ISF was founded in 1994, in Craiova. This year the organizers from Romania decided to bring the Shakespearean spirit to Chisinau.
“Starting from the concept of “community building festivals”, we imagined an edition that emphasizes the collaborative spirit of the local community and their involvement in building alternative experiences of putting Shakespeare on stage (or, why not, in the street). The communities build the festival and find in its spirit a part to pass on as testament to the power of this phenomenon. Just as Shakespeare’s plays speak directly to people everywhere, regardless of age, nationality or language, the ISF addresses everyone, from all the corners of the country and the world, now also in Chisinau,” said ISF Craiova pesident Vlad Drăgulescu.
During the festival, the Nameless Theater and the National Opera and Ballet House “Maria Bieșu” will host the following shows: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “Richard III”, “The Tempest”, “Henry V. The Man and the Monarch”, “Hamlet", "12 Whispers on the 12th Night".
The event will involve troupes from the UK, Romania and Ukraine. Shakespearean masterpieces will be put on the stage in an original and captivating manner. Each performance will bring a new perspective on the works of the great writer, offering the audience unusual theatrical experiences.
By two shows will be staged daily. Tickets are available from the ticket offices of the host theaters and on the platforms Fest.md and iTicket.md/
The European Shakespeare Festivals Network was founded in March 2010. Currently, the Shakespeare Festival is an international event that takes place in the United Kingdom, Armenia, Bohemia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Romania, France, Macedonia, Serbia, and Poland. Some of these countries were even visited by English actors in the early 17th century, and Shakespeare’s plays were performed there even during his lifetime.
