A former Malaysian political prisoner and an Olympic gold hockey coach will help stir the passions of Shakespeare buffs at the VIII World Shakespeare Congress, opening in Brisbane this Sunday, July 16.
The congress, hosted by The University of Queensland and on its first outing to the Southern Hemisphere, will open with an Indigenous welcome to country and energetic modern performances of Shakespeare. Acclaimed actor, director and dramatist, Bille Brown, will be the master of ceremonies.
Media are invited to the opening in the Main Auditorium, Brisbane City Hall, 5pm-6pm. For more information, including the program, see www.shakespeare2006.net
UQ Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and congress Convenor Professor Richard Fotheringham said the six-day event would be the largest gathering of lovers of Shakespeare worldwide.
“Many of the delegates will be under the spell of ‘Bardolatry’ – idolatry of the Bard,” Professor Fotheringham said.
Professor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a former Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, and now a visiting professor at Georgetown University and visiting fellow at St Anthony`s College, Oxford University, will be a keynote speaker.
He will discuss how he was inspired by the complete works of Shakespeare while incarcerated in a Malaysian prison for six years.
“I am in debt to Shakespeare in that sense because I was able to fly away from that small constraint of those four walls during incarceration to become this major spectator of this classic work of that great genius,” Professor Ibrahim said.
Other speakers include former Hockeyroos coach Ric Charlesworth, Queensland-born author David Malouf and internationally-recognised Australian stage director Gale Edwards.
A rehearsed reading of the first English translation of Arabic playwright Jawad Al-Asadi’s Forget Hamlet will feature at 7.30pm on Monday, July 17.
“Jawad Al-Asadi uses themes, ideas and storylines both from the East and from the West. Forget Hamlet is a fascinating version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet story. It will open people’s eyes to the ways in which Shakespeare’s storylines resonate for people of many cultures,” Professor Fotheringham said.
“It’s the first World Shakespeare Congress since the disastrous events of September 11, 2001.
“The role of Shakespeare in cultures that speak Arabic and believe in the Muslim faith will be a particular focus of this congress.”
The World Shakespeare Congress is the globe’s biggest literary studies conference. Past venues included Stratford-upon-Avon, Berlin, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Valencia.
Professor Fotheringham said the congress had caused a surge in interest in Shakespeare`s works.
“Delegates and speakers are coming from Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, China, Republic Of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Kingdom, USA and Yemen,” Professor Fotheringham said.
The Queensland Government (Department of Education and the Arts and Department of Communities), Brisbane City Council, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, the Museum of Brisbane, the Brisbane Festival, the Supreme Court Library, the State Library of Queensland and the Queensland Arts Council are working with UQ and have planned Shakespeare-inspired events to complement the congress.
The World Shakespeare Congress until July 21 at Brisbane City Hall.
Media contacts: VIII World Shakespeare Congress Senior Program Manager Melissa Western (+61 7 3365 1125, melissa.western@uq.edu.au) or Fiona Kennedy at UQ Communications (+ 61 7 3365 1088, mobile: 0413 380 012)
