Dissident playwright and then-President Václav Havel gave sufficient encouragement to artists that the Summer Shakespeare Festival took place for the first time in 1994 – at Prague Castle, no less.
Prague Shakespeare Company has recently announced that international TV, film, and theatre star Hammed Animashaun (Amazon’s Wheel of Time, Royal National Theatre) will join PSC Artistic Director Guy Roberts as co-director of the English-language production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream performing as part of the Summer Shakespeare Festival at Prague Castle on 29 & 30 July, 2021.
Set in a magical wood filled with fantastical fairies, sprites and legendary creatures, with original music by Patrick Neil Doyle, This production features a new version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, translated into contemporary modern English by Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated storyteller Jeffrey Whitty.
You can buy your tickets here
Why English-language Shakespeare in Prague?
There is a rich tradition of experiencing Shakespeare in English in the Czech Republic. Robert Browne’s acting troupe perhaps played Shakespeare in English in Prague as early as 1596 and then certainly in 1603.
In 1619 they returned to celebrate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to the Elector of Palatine. Shortly before that time Czech aristocrats watched plays in the Globe and other London theatres whilst on their travels.
To truly experience Shakespeare one must “hear” the plays in the English language. Shakespeare in English also compliments the great tradition of Shakespeare performances in Czech; deepening appreciation and understanding for audiences, artists and students not only of art, theatre and Shakespeare but the English language as well.
About The Prague Shakespeare Company
Now in their fourteenth season, the Prague Shakespeare Company presents professional theatre productions, workshops, classes, lectures and other theatrical events of the highest quality, conducted primarily in English by a diverse multinational ensemble of professional theatre artists, with an emphasis on the plays of William Shakespeare.
The Prague Shakespeare Company brings to Czech, European and international audiences performances that are fresh, bold, imaginative, thought-provoking, and eminently accessible, connecting the truths of the past with the challenges and possibilities of today.
