Shakespeare Festival Neuss is an annual theatre festival in

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It has taken place in a replica of the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

on the grounds of the Neuss

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also us ...

since 1991.

Globe Neuss

In 1988, a replica of the original London Globe Theatre was built for the Landesgartenschau (''horticultural show of the state

NRW North Rhine-Westphalia or North-Rhine/Westphalia, commonly shortened to NRW, is a States of Germany, state () in Old states of Germany, Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhabitants, it is the List of German states by population, most ...

'') in

Rheda-Wiedenbrück Rheda-Wiedenbrück (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Raie-Wienbrügge'') is a city in the Gütersloh (district), district of Gütersloh, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography The twin community lies within the valley of the river E ...

. Reinhard Schiele, a theatre-maker who, at the time, worked with the Schlosstheater Overhagen, had the initial idea and supervised the entire project. Schiele wanted it to be as true as possible to the original, so he planned a mobile travelling theatre built entirely out of wood. This dream had to be abandoned due to fire prevention regulations. The result was a

dodecagon In geometry, a dodecagon, or 12-gon, is any twelve-sided polygon. Regular dodecagon A regular polygon, regular dodecagon is a figure with sides of the same length and internal angles of the same size. It has twelve lines of reflective symmetry ...

al theatre building made of a wood-and-steel construction that was no longer mobile. After the horticultural show ended, the theatre was not used for two years. The city of Neuss and the ″Neusser Gemeinnützige Bauverein AG″ then acquired the building and rebuilt it on the grounds of the Neusser Galopprennbahn (

) in 1991. The multi-storey building, whose small windows are closed with black and white shutters, can accommodate about 500 spectators sitting on several levels. Not one seat is further than 10 meters apart from the stage. In the historical Globe Theatre there was virtually no seating at all but this would be unthinkable for today's audiences.

Festival

The festival has been held annually since 1991. In 2016 it lasted for about a month during June and July joining theatres around the world in celebration of the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. It is supervised by the cultural minister of the city of Neuss, as artistic director and production manager. The event is sponsored by a group called ''Friends of the Globe''. The festival features an annually changing program of up to 30 performances attracting approximately 15,000 visitors. A space utilization of 90 percent is achieved."'What else can you see in London and New Delhi?' Stefan Keim accounts for the Shakespeare Festival in Neuss

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from 4 July 2012 The mixture of national and international ensembles, the works of Shakespeare, partly in Original language, perform on the simple stage without elaborate backdrops, offers both faithful productions as well as contemporary arrangements and unconventional interpretations. The regular participants include the Bremer Shakespeare Company and the Rheinische Landestheater Neuss.

Programme

* 1991: Bremer Shakespeare Company:

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed around 1607, by the King's Men at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre. Its first appearance in print was in the First Folio published ...

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

, and

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

* 1992: first appearances of ''The Medieval Players

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

'',

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n dance company Keli, the ''

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

Pralipe Theater'' and the Rheinische Landestheater Neuss * Since 1994, Patrick Spottiswoode has appeared on London's Shakespeare's Globe, which presents regular talks on "Shakespeare and the Globe" * In addition to frequently played pieces, lesser known works and modern arrangements were also added to the programme. In 1996 the "Théâtre le Ranelagh" from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

presented an early Italian model for "Romeo and Juliet" in 15

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

clown pictures, while the "Nossa Cara" theater group from Brazil presented a "street hamlet" in 1995. * 2007: Semi-Operas of

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

: "The Tempest", "The Fairy Queen", and "King Arthur"; developed and performed by the Rheinische Landestheater in association with the Capella Piccola (a local choir specialised on

Early Music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

) as well as the Metamorphosis ensemble and the academy for arts and media from Cologne * 2012: originally Afghan ''Theater Rah-e Sabz'' ("Path of Hope") performed a modern adaptation of the ''

Comedy of Errors ''The Comedy of Errors'' is one of William Shakespeare's early plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farce, farcical Shakespearean comedy, comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addit ...

'' in context of a country devastated by decades of civil and religious war where the search for family members is no longer a mere act of comedy. The group had to relocate to India since their rehearsal room fell victim to a bomb attack. * also in 2012: Lithuanian director Oskaras Koršunovas introduced ''Miranda'', a most unusual adaptation of Shakespeare's 'Tempest'.

External links

Website of the Shakespeare-Festival Neuss

References

{{Theatre festivals in Germany Shakespeare festivals Theatre festivals in Germany