The celebration of William Shakespeare’s works this year — marking 400 years since his death — ramps up this weekend with a special film screening.
UAE culture fans will be treated to a film exploration of the Bard’s plays in The Complete Walk, a series that saw plays performed in their actual locations — think Hamlet shot in Elsinore, and Timon of Athens in, well, Athens.
The 37 films (covering each of his plays), each ten minutes long, were first screened in London. Now a Dubai-based theatre production company is bringing them to The Junction, a venue at Alserkal Avenue in Dubai’s Al Quoz district. The nine-month long series, called Shakespeare in the Sands, begins with the first volume, running October 20-22, screening ten of the 37 films. The screenings, from 7.30pm, with a Saturday matinee at 3.30pm, also include a panel discussion during the interval, workshops, monologues by guest artists and competitions.
“We brought the Globe to Globe Hamlet last year, but they could only manage one weekend due to their schedule,” says Asad Raza Khan of event organisers Tall Tales Productions. “We wanted something more complete and which could spread out longer for the people of Dubai to take benefit from. The Complete Walk not only encompasses all of Shakespeare’s work, making it the most complete Shakespeare experience, but also gives us the flexibility to spread it across multiple months like we have done.”
The plays screened are:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Macbeth
Othello
Romeo and Juliet
The Merry Wives of Windsors
Taming of the Shrew
Henry IV (Part 1)
Henry IV (Part 2)
Timon of Athens
Measure for Measure
Khan — who has performed Hamlet three times, and says it’s his favourite Shakespeare role, says the UAE “loves” Shakespeare. “We love art, we love culture, and we love him. All our past Shakespeare events have been sold out and I am expecting this to be no different. This is also a very special opportunity for schools so I urge them to bring their students to it.”
That said, he’s hoping the UAE theatre scene expands to local content.
“Something relevant to the local culture and the expat community... maybe something based in modern Dubai involving the real people living here. That would be a good treat to watch and will take Dubai theatre to a new level. And of course we would love to take our event to the Opera House, if they are willing to have us, as I believe they have a full line up for many months to come.”
The next volumes are scheduled for December 1-3, January 19-21, and April 20-23. Tickets are Dh100, available at the venue and thejunctiondubai.com.
