Britain celebrates Shakespeare's 450th birthday

Hamlet's global journey

Shakespeare's Globe on London's South Bank is a replica of the Globe Theater of Shakespeare's time, 400 years ago in the Elizabethan era.

A pyrotechnician lights a flaming depiction of William Shakespeare during a firework display at the Royal Shakespeare Company marking the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth in Stratford-upon-Avon, southern England April 23, 2014. Known as the Bard and regarded as England's greatest playwright, Shakespeare, whose 450th birthday is celebrated on Wednesday, let his imagination roam as widely as his characters. [Photo/Agencies]

Tom Bird, executive producer, told Xinhua that the global tour of Hamlet aimed to visit 205 countries and regions across the world in a tour that will last for two years.

Bird said after the tour ended on April 23, 2016, the production would return to Shakespeare's Globe. April 23 is Shakespeare's birthday; by coincidence it is also the day he died.

A total of 16 crew will be on the road, with 12 actors and four support staff. There are parts for a minimum eight actors, so while on the road all of them will be playing several parts, giving others a chance for a break.

He said that there were three actors to play Horatio, in rotation, two Hamlets, and that "may well evolve" during the tour, perhaps to include even a female Hamlet. "We are very open to all these things; it will be fascinating to see how it will morph and evolve."

He added, there are many great Shakespeare plays, and choosing which one to send on the world tour was not easy. "We talked about a lot of shows, including Romeo and Juliet. We wanted to do something that was iconic, and known well, to give ourselves a headstart in places where Shakespeare is not very well known."

Among the venues for Hamlet is the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing. And in other places, it will be playing in Elsinore Castle in Denmark, where Shakespeare set Hamlet, Greek and Roman theaters, a theater built into the rainforest in St Lucia, and a theater in the market square at Marrakesh.