Scholars from all over the world will attend the 35th International Shakespeare Conference, 'Working with Shakespeare', at the University of Birmingham’s Stratford-upon-Avon base from 5th – 10th August.
The Shakespeare Institute, the University of Birmingham’s unique centre for the postgraduate study of Shakespeare’s works, times and afterlives, will welcome over 200 leading researchers, drawn from every continent.
Held at the Institute since its establishment in 1951, the conference is a biennial gathering of the world’s most respected experts in Shakespeare, and provides a regular stimulus to the development of Shakespeare study globally.
As well as attending plenary lectures and taking part in seminars, participants will be visiting the theatres of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and attending a special event hosted by Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 'Shakespeare as Poetic Muse', the final evening of the Stratford Poetry Festival, with poets Wendy Cope, Michael Symmons Roberts, Lachlan McKinnon, and Don Paterson.
Professor Michael Dobson, Director of the Institute, says, 'Although our delegates are not always in the same peak physical condition as medal-winning athletes, the International Shakespeare Conference is in many ways the Olympics of Shakespeare studies, and with Stratford so thoroughly involved in the Cultural Olympiad - with the World Shakespeare Festival still in full swing - 2012 has already been as rich a year for Shakespearean theatre-goers and critics as it has been for sports fans. We are already looking forward to 2014, when our conference will mark Shakespeare's 450th birthday, and 2016, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, when Stratford and London will jointly be hosting an even larger and grander event, the World Shakespeare Congress.'
For more information, please contact Samantha Williams, Press Office, 0121 414 6029 / s.k.williams@bham.ac.uk