The 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death is 2016, and exhibitions, performances, lectures, and symposia have been planned worldwide to explore his cultural legacy.
Rhodes, through the Pearce Shakespeare Endowment, will observe the 400th anniversary with events this academic year that consider Shakespeare from the stage, screen, and history of the liberal arts.
From Sept. 28-Oct. 23, acclaimed British actor and director Nick Hutchison will be in residence, visiting dozens of classes as well as working closely with students in rehearsal. He will offer a Meeman Center seminar on “The Two Noble Kinsmen: Shakespeare’s Great Late Comedy.” This single session will take place on Oct. 19, 5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.
Hutchison’s visit will culminate in a free public Symposium on Shakespearean Comedy on Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. in McCoy Studio. The event is co-sponsored by the Departments of English and Theatre. As part of the symposium, Dr. Fiona Ritchie of McGill University will discuss “Gender, Shakespeare, and Emotion on the Eighteenth-Century Stage.” Her visit is co-sponsored by the Gender & Sexuality Studies program.
The Pearce Shakespeare Endowment is partnering with the Indie Memphis Film Festival on Nov. 8 for a screening of Orson Welles’ classic “Chimes at Midnight” (a.k.a. “Falstaff”). The screening will be preceded by arias from Falstaff operas, and followed by a discussion with Welles scholars. Co-sponsored by Rhodes’ Film Studies Program and CODA, the event begins at 1:30 p.m. at Studio on the Square.
Rhodes’ Shakespeare-related events will conclude with an international symposium on 1616, the year Shakespeare died. It will be held April 21-22 in Blount Auditorium on campus. Communities in Conversation is sponsoring the keynote speaker, Thomas Christensen, author of 1616: The World in Motion. Also as part of the symposium, Rhodes’ Barret Library will display 1616-related items from its special collections.
For more information, contact Dr. Scott L. Newstok, who coordinates the Pearce Shakespeare Endowment, at newstoks@rhodes.edu
ABOUT THE PEARCE SHAKESPEARE ENDOWMENT
Thanks to the generosity of the late Dr. Iris Annette Pearce, Rhodes College enjoys an unusually wide range of Shakespeare-related resources. The Pearce Shakespeare Endowment was established in 2007 to enrich courses in Shakespeare and support events for the entire campus. Funds generated by Dr. Pearce’s gift aid Shakespeare studies through lectures by visiting scholars; conferences and symposia; support for research; productions of plays; periods of residence by performing artists; and other innovative programming to enhance Shakespeare at Rhodes and in the greater Memphis community.