Join us in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for Research in Action: Play On Shakespeare, a creative look at the relevance and resonances between Shakespeare’s plays and contemporary interpretations.

In partnership with major translation project Play On Shakespeare and hosted by Play On’s President & Co-Founder Lue Douthit and the Globe’s Head of Research Will Tosh, this insightful and interactive workshop gives you the unique opportunity to experience 16th and 21st century writing side-by-side, live on stage.

Theatre-maker Sam Beckett Jr. (Artistic Director, Purple Theatre) and actor Polly Lister (The Worst Witch, UK Tour/West End) present extracts of Shakespeare’s original work alongside modern translations; before actor and writer Ishia Bennison (The Tempest, RSC) and writer Migdalia Cruz (Macbeth, Shakespeare in Detroit) bring to life their very own in-the-moment translations of Shakespeare scenes and share the exciting challenges and discoveries of the process.

You’ll then have the chance to try your hand at translating too, in a live discussion led by Lue and Will, with the help of Professor Jonathan Hope (Professor of English, Arizona State University) and Ben Spiller (Artistic Director, 1623 Theatre). We’ll work together to investigate what we learn about Shakespeare’s plays by putting the English of then and now in conversation.

Part of our ongoing Research in Action series which gives audiences a chance to be part of the Globe’s exploration of early modern and contemporary performance culture. Play On Shakespeare, launched by the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015, is a non-profit company promoting and creating contemporary translations of Shakespeare’s plays.