Forests is a new Shakespearean odyssey imagined by one of Europe’s most prominent theatre directors, Calixto Bieito, whose passionate and radical interpretations of classics have stimulated controversy and earned him critical acclaim.
Composed from original verse from Shakespeare’s woodland and heath scenes, the play takes audiences from As You Like It’s forest of Arden through the moving trees of Macbeth’s Birnam Wood, ending in the bare wilderness of King Lear’s cliffs of Dover: a vivid theatrical journey from the calmness of paradise to the uncertainties of purgatory and finally into the flames of hell.
Forests features an international cast led by Catalan actors Josep Maria Pou, Roser Camí and English actor George Costigan.
'An extraordinary Catalan collage, conceived and directed by the vibrantly experimental director Calixto Bieito: hot-blooded, anarchic and haunted by images of death. Far from being an act of crazy vandalism, Forests is a visceral response to Shakespeare’s texts.'Guardian ★★★★
'A dream play, or nightmare, with the great poetry of As You Like It, Macbeth, Troilus and Cressida, Timon of Athens and other unexpected nuggets pressed into an alternative world at first seductive, then dangerous. There's an astonishing scenic coup half way through.'Independent ★★★★
'George Costigan – such a capable actor, as they are all – delivers ‘All the World’s a Stage’ with mesmerising intelligence.' Daily Telegraph
'Entrancing. There are so many speeches you hear again as if for the first time.' Whatsonstage.com
100 minutes / no interval
Performed in English and Catalan (with English surtitles throughout)
Age guidance 16+ (contains adult themes and some nudity)
7 Nov Post-show talk Calixto Bieito in conversation with Deborah Shaw, director of World Shakespeare Festival Free to same-day ticket holders
Directed by Calixto Bieito Dramaturgy by Calixto Bieito & Marc Rosich Set Design by Rebecca Ringst Costume Design by Ingo Krugler Lighting Design by Tim Mitchell Music by Maika Makovsky
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