William Shakespeare's works have influenced numerous writers for several centuries. (Photo : Flickr)
"Shakespeare Lives," a series of educational and cultural activities co-organized by the British Council in China and the Great British Campaign & North Ireland, will be held to commemorate the 400th death anniversary of renowned playwright William Shakespeare, announced in a Thursday press conference at the Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), as reported by the Global Times.
The event will include numerous activities, including stage plays, concerts, films and educational programs that will be held throughout 2016.
For example, from February to April there will be the "King and Country" tour that will have Shakespeare's plays like "Henry IV" and "Henry V" staged in theaters in Beijing, Shanghai and even Hong Kong.
In Shanghai, a Shakespeare film season is set to begin in mid-June, with the event scheduled to feature some of the films throughout history that have been based on Shakespeare's works, including early silent films and contemporary works.
Aside from performances meant for the public, there will also be a series of English learning programs offered that will target students and teachers.
"For the U.K., 2015 beckoned the golden era between U.K. and China," said British Ambassador to China Barbara Woodward in a statement. "2016 sees us building on that exciting year through our phenomenal 'Shakespeare Lives' program here in China."
Not only Shakespeare will get attention this year. 2016 is also the 400th death anniversary of Tang Xianzu, a Chinese playwright. There will be a number of activities held throughout the year that will explore the works of Shakespeare and Tang together.
An example is a project by Britain's Gecko and the Shanghai Drama Art Center, which will be a performance that will combine "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare with "The Peony Pavilion" by Tang.
China and the U.K. marked 2015 as the China-U.K. Year of Cultural Exchange, which included a series of events wherein the two countries brought glimpses of one's culture across the globe to the other. The goal was to expose Chinese residents to the culture of the U.K. and vice versa.
With "Shakespeare Lives," that cultural exchange will likely continue further into 2016.
