The York International Shakespeare Festival (YISF) is back for the 8th time.

With productions starting from April 21 to May 3, this is the fourth year that York St. John has been a partner. Events are taking place all around York, including York Museum, York St. John University, Theatre@41, and many more.  

Founder and director of the festival, Phillip Parr, says, “We have a chance to look at Shakespeare as a world playwright and in so many different and varying interpretations.”  

Founded in 2014, the festival started as a bi-annual event, although now occurs just once a year. YISF aims to bring together different translations and adaptations of Shakespeare to explore the complexities and depths of his stories and sonnets.  

YISF brings different interpretations of Shakespeare’s texts from all around the globe. This year, the highlights are from Georgia, Ukraine, and Romania.  

What is going on?

The festival started with a short collaborative project between YISF and York Museum. The play was presented on the Roman Mosaic floors and included objects from the Roman collection from the Yorkshire Museum.  

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Throughout the week, there have been events including showings of Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, as well as discussions with academics and more.

Other events to note include: 

• Six Angels in Search of a Character, a play directed by Phillip Parr, which is inspired by “primary children’s vision and concept of what angels are”. Angels play a large part in Shakespeare’s stories and plays, and in this one, the angels are fighting for superiority and influence. 

• Love’s Labours Lost is a mix between Shakespeare and modern nightlife. This comedy has a twist, making four DJs the main characters. They all vow to abstain from pleasure and temptation, but that vow soon starts to wane when the Princess of France arrives.  

• Symposium: Shakespeare and Gender, led by Dr Saffron Vickers Walkling and Dr Mie Ørbæk Claridge from York St. John University. It presents contributions from students, academics, local participants, and Festival Artist in Residence Lisa Wolpe. Also included is a pop-up performance by YSJU’s Shakespeare society and students from the University of Gloucestershire. 

• Shakespeare dance workshop, inspired by Shakespeare texts, Elizabethan dance style is taught in this workshop. Led by Lottie Adcock, who has been teaching and performing historic dancing for 15 years.  

York International Shakespeare Festival

Parr said, “I think audiences should come whether they know everything about Shakespeare or nothing because what we have are amazing artists and theatre companies from around the world, telling fantastic stories in their own way through all sorts of styles, mediums and theatre forms.” 

Get your tickets and look at the programs online on the YISF website.