Three Royal Shakespeare Company productions are to tour Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong from February 2016 as part of a programme of international cultural, artistic and educational exchange with China.
RSC artistic director Gregory Doran’s productions of Henry IV Parts I and II and Henry V will form the King and Country Tour. In addition The Shakespeare Folio Project, an RSC ambition to translate Shakespeare’s works into Chinese, has begun a pilot phase and a project to translate Chinese classics into English is also under way.
Doran said, “I profoundly believe that we foster deeper understanding between cultures by sharing and telling each other our stories. I’ve been hugely excited by the ambitions of our Chinese cultural partners and their interest in working with the Royal Shakespeare Company on these three initiatives.
“China’s rich, dramatic heritage mirrors the epic scale, complexity and universality of Shakespeare’s work, and has a national curriculum which requires young people to study his plays. I’m delighted that we’re able to bring our work to new audiences in China, with the support of the UK government and the deep commitment and active engagement of the Chinese Cultural Embassy.”
Chinese Shakespeare expert Professor Zhang Chong from Shanghai’s Fudan University is translating Henry V and is working alongside award-winning playwright Nick Rongjun Yu.
The RSC is also collaborating with academics and theatre organisations in the UK and China to create new English translations of classical Chinese works. Academics and theatre-makers are invited to put forward titles for consideration. The RSC’s ambition is to explore and discover dramas written and performed in China during Shakespeare's lifetime in the 16th and 17th centuries.