Faculty members from the Shakespeare Institute participated in two European symposium events co-organized with colleagues based at the University of Verona, at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, and at Ca'Foscari university in Venice.
Faculty members from the Shakespeare Institute – including Professors Ewan Fernie and Michael Dobson, Dr Erin Sullivan, and Dr Abigail Rokison – participated in two European symposium events this spring and summer, co-organized with colleagues based at the University of Verona, at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, and at Ca’Foscari university in Venice.
The first, ‘Within whose scope of choice? from Renaissance to contemporary civic crisis and reconciliation,’ took place in Verona from April 11th-14th, and explored both the depiction of civic crisis within Romeo and Juliet and the ways in which the play has been used in representing and addressing civic crises since Shakespeare’s time. It culminated in a dance event based on the play, assembled by the veteran English mime and choreographer Lindsay Kemp, who was interviewed by Dr Jaq Bessell and Professor Silvia Bigliazzi the following morning.
The second, ‘Civic Shakespeare in Anglo-German contact zones,’ took place in Weimar from July 19th-20th, and explored the legacies of Goethe’s adoption of Shakespeare as the paradigmatic figure for public culture. It culminated in a meal at the nearby Schloss Ettersburg, much frequented by Goethe, and the place where Schiller wrote one of his most successful plays, Maria Stuart.
