I had a rare treat yesterday evening. A troupe of travelling actors turned up in the George Enescu square and put on a free show for the Bucharest public. The play was Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like it’. The actors happened to be from William Shakespeare’s very own theatre, the reconstructed Globe Theatre in London. For Shakespeare lovers, this team plays in the premier league.
The result was magical. In this very public space, right in the heart of Bucharest, the Bard met his audience and played his eternal themes of tyranny and exile, of family and feuds, of life and of love – especially love. Shakespeare is Britain’s greatest playwright, but he is of course eternal, and universal. A man writing in the reign of the first Queen Elizabeth is as relevant today in the Jubilee year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the Second, four hundred years later. And as relevant to an audience in Bucharest as in Southwark on the Thames. And for all ages – the ‘seven ages of man’ were all represented in the large and enthusiastic audience that turned up to see this wonderful show (well, at least six out of seven!).
I loved the atmosphere – that as the life of the city buzzed around us, this audience stood transfixed by the comedy and pathos of the play. The actors were superb – inventive, talented, changing parts and costumes within the cast and within the characters, and providing the songs and music as well. ‘All the world’s a stage’, but the best stage to be at last night was in front of the former Royal Palace in Bucharest.
Congratulations and thanks to ArCub, the British Council, International Shakespeare Festival, Shakespeare Foundation and Marin Sorescu National Theatre in Craiova for bringing this fantastic spectacle to Romania.
The show is on again tonight. Catch it if you can, visit the British Council website for details.