World and UK premieres on stages across York.
Exhibitions – talks – readings – works in progress
Click through the event title for further details and links to ticket booking.
Tuesday April 22
7:30 pm
Theatre@41
Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3; “I Am Myself Alone”
presented by York Shakespeare Project
Wednesday April 23
4:00 pm Talk
5:00 pm Reading
York St John University Creative Centre Recital Room
European play reading in translation from Bulgaria. Pre-show talk by Boika Sokolova
World Premiere
7:30 pm
Theatre@41
Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3; “I Am Myself Alone”
presented by York Shakespeare Project
8:00 pm
The Den at Micklegate Social
Celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday with YISF & Bard at the Bar!
Thursday April 24
7:30 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
Presented by Philipp Sommer
7:30 pm
Theatre@41
Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3; “I Am Myself Alone”
Presented by York Shakespeare Project
Friday April 25
6:00 pm Talk
7:30 pm Reading
York St John University Creative Centre Recital Room
European play reading in translation from Ukraine
7:30 pm
Theatre@41
Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3; “I Am Myself Alone”
presented by York Shakespeare Project
Saturday April 26
2:00 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
Presented by Hoglets Theatre
2:30 pm
Theatre@41
Henry VI Parts 1, 2 & 3; “I Am Myself Alone”
presented by York Shakespeare Project
5:00 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
A Conversation with Irwin Appel
Led by Dr. Anne-Marie Evans of York St John University
7:30 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
There’s no clock in the forest
Presented by York International Shakespeare Festival in collaboration with D:Space
7:30 pm
Theatre@41
Henry VI Parts 1,2 & 3; “I Am Myself Alone”
Presented by York Shakespeare Project
Sunday April 27
2:00 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
Learn Shakespearean dance with Lottie Adcock
Monday April 28
Tuesday April 29
10:00 am – 5:30 pm
York St John University Creative Centre
A richly Hamlet-filled day of shows, talks, and workshops
Wednesday April 30
7:30pm
Theatre@41
Robert Sturua – Documentary Film by Manana Anasashvili
presented by the Georgian Film Academy and the Georgian Shakespeare Association
Thursday May 1
5:00 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
presented by Ryuta Minami and Ronan Paterson
Friday May 2
5:00 pm
York St John University
Gijsbreght van Aemstel by Joost van den Vondel
European play reading in translation from a Dutch contemporary of Shakespeare
Saturday May 3
2:00 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
Learlike – 2025 ShakeSphere Selection
Presented by Greensleeved
7:00 pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
Learlike – 2025 ShakeSphere Selection
Presented by Greensleeved
Sunday May 4
3:00 pm-6:00pm
York St John University Creative Centre Auditorium
Drzic Day: Pinch Hoard | Venus and Adonis
European plays read in translation from Croatia
Exhibitions
York Explore – Central Library
International Graphic Shakespeare Competition
From April 12
This exhibition will offer a selection of the winners from ten years of the International Graphic Shakespeare Competition, including Eve Jones from North Yorkshire (Stockton), one of this year’s winners.
York St John University Creative Centre Atrium
23 April – 4 May
Two exhibitions will be featured in the Atrium at York St John University Creative Centre throughout the festival.
Who’s there?: Hamlet Retrospective 2010-2025
“Who’s there?” are the words which have prompted every Hamlet on stage since 1601 and on page since 1603. Who is Hamlet?, What ghost haunts him?, What story does Hamlet bid his friend Horatio “tell” before “the rest is silence”? are subsequent questions with which productions and translations of the play have been engaging in ways that imprinted them on the cultural memory.
In 2010, the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival offered a Hamlet exclusive feast: The Hamlet Constellation, which included: seventeen stage productions from across the globe; the Worldwide Hamlet in Performance and Translation seminars, a one-off performance criticism series, now a highly anticipated, regular ESRA event; workshops and screenings; several book-launches; and exhibitions. No Festival, in Europe or indeed in the world, has attempted such a feat before or since.
Starting where the play ends, the Hamlet Retrospective summons up the 2010 Hamlet fe(a)st and all Hamlets that have made the traffic of the Craiova Festival’s stages since to ‘tell their stories’, opens the dialogue on what work staged Hamlet has been doing over the past fifteen years and asks anew: ‘Who’s there?’
Curators: Prof Nicoleta Cinpoes and Dr Sorin Cazacu
23 April – 4 May
10th Anniversary Posters
In honour of the 10th Anniversary of YISF, we have asked York St John University Illustration students to design a festival poster celebrating these ten years. Drawing on styles from classic European theatre posters and bringing in their own artistic flair, these student-designed posters will go on to represent the festival in our revels throughout 2025. To see this selection and more 10th Anniversary posters, please visit www.yorkshakes.co.uk
Notes:
All exhibitions are free and open during the opening hours of the building where they are being hosted.