Welcome to the home of the York International Shakespeare Festival.
We are an annual festival presenting around 10 days of exciting Shakespeare productions and productions and events derived from Shakespeare, and celebrating Shakespeare as an International writer.
We are pleased to be able to announce the 8th edition of the York International Shakespeare Festival will run 21 April – 3 May 2026, presenting a variety of arts and culture inspired by Shakespeare from all around the world.
Highlights include –
- Lisa Wolpe – Festival Artist in Residence – Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender
- With Love’s Light Wings (Georgia)
- Shakespeare and Rome – a collaborative project with York Museums Trust
- Emily Carding – Timonopoly
- Morag Galloway – Dog Daze
- The Taming of the Shrew (Romanian Cultural Institute)
- Hamlet (Common Ground Theatre)
- New work in progress by DSpace
- The Thistle and The Rose by Linda Gates
- Hamlet is like a sponge – an exploration of the archive of David Gothard
- Concert of Shakespeare-inspired new music
- Petty Men (Buzz Studios) – ShakeSphere Selection 2026
- Plakir by Marin Drzic (Croatia)
- A Kingdom Jack’d (Tempest Wisdom)
- Richard 3. Omul (Romania – Liviu Cheloiu)
- Codename Othello by Olga Annenko – new productions by The National Theatre of Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine) and York International Shakespeare Festival
Here in York, some of our venue partners are:
York St John University
Theatre @ 41
Friargate Theatre
York Explore
York Museums Trust
We hope you’ll come and join us!
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