Ukrainian visit to the Shakespeare Birthday celebrations

Over Shakespeare's birthday weekend, 20-23 April, the Shakespeare Institute was proud to host a visit from Professor Nataliya Torkut of National University, Zaporizhzhia, the founder and head of the Ukrainian Shakespeare Centre, and her colleague Professor Maya Harbuzyuk, Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Ivan Franko National University, Lviv (with which the University of Birmingham is now twinned).

Both were made Senior Honorary Research Fellows at the Thursday seminar on 20 April, and both walked with a Ukrainian flag in the Shakespeare's Birthday procession through Stratford on 22 April. Afterwards, Professor Torkut gave the toast 'To the Immortal Memory of William Shakespeare' at the official Shakespeare's Birthday lunch, a speech so affecting and memorable that it was mentioned at Prime Minister's Questions a few days later (by the MP for Halesowen and Rowley Regis,  UoB alumnus James Morris).  Their visit was reported not only on our main university website, but in The Guardian and the mighty Stratford Herald.  

Learn more:

• Read Professor Nataliya Torkut's speech
• How Shakespeare is inspiring Ukraine to go once more into the breach
• Shakespeare can help us survive war: Ukrainian academic toasts bard in UK visit
• Ukrainian academics take centre stage at Shakespeare birthday celebrations
• Professor Nataliya Torkut mentioned in Prime Minster's Questions