A University of Worcester academic explores Shakespeare’s impact on the European stage in a new book.
Professor Nicoleta Cinpoeş with her book Shakespeare on European Festival Stages
Professor of Shakespeare Studies, Nicoleta Cinpoeş, has co-edited Shakespeare on European Festival Stages, which brings together accounts and analysis of productions of Shakespeare’s works that have been undertaken across Europe in festivals that celebrate the author’s work.
Edited in collaboration with Professor Florence March (University of Montpellier) and Professor Paul Prescott (University of California, Merced), it looks to draw insights into Shakespeare festivalling as a European cultural phenomenon.
Professor Cinpoeş said: “While international theatre festivals and American Shakespeare festivals have received some critical attention, Shakespeare on European Festival Stages is the first book to chart Shakespeare’s presence at European festivals. It is the first book to examine the role these festivals play in European social and cultural exchanges and to consider, in turn, the impact festivals have on the production and circulation of staged Shakespeare.
“This book breaks new ground by giving readers a unique account of the significance of Shakespeare in modern Europe through the histories of the many and varied Shakespeare-centred festivals that span the continent and each year re-define what Shakespeare means to hundreds of thousands of Europeans and international festival goers.”
Professor Cinpoeş’ research specialises in the staging of Shakespeare’s works, whether on screen, in the classroom, online, translated or adapted. Her work with and on Shakespeare festivals in Europe spans more than a decade.
The collection features essays on Shakespeare plays performed at a variety of venues, including the Avignon Festival, in France, the Almagro Festival in Spain, Shakespeare at Four Castles, in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the Shakespeare festivals in Elsinore, Denmark, as well as locations in Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Germany, Bulgaria and Italy. Professor Cinpoeş has penned a chapter herself on the international Shakespeare Festival, in Craiova, Romania, a festival she has been working with closely since 2010.
“Focusing on the “festival Shakespeare” phenomenon in Europe, this book argues that Shakespeare and his work play a dynamic role in intercultural celebration, mobility and mediation,” said Professor Cinpoeş. “From the aftermath of World War II until now, festivals have deployed Shakespeare as a model of inclusive theatre to provide alternative answers to Europe's multi-faceted crises. And Shakespeare festivals continue to be cultural and social game changers. As the war in Ukraine unfolds, Shakespeare festivals in Europe stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the Russian people who are being repressed for taking a stance against this war, and all those displaced and affected by its horrors. Shakespeare on festivals stages this year will, no doubt, work on healing.”
The book is designed for students, scholars and practitioners interested in Shakespeare in performance and how it is translated to other languages and cultures. It is available from the publisher Bloomsbury Publishing and various book retailers.