Grand tribute planned for Bard's 400th death anniversary

Shakespeare enthusiasts from across India are invited to be part of an online project, that envisages uploading and sharing of their videos reciting lines from the plays of the great Bard.
"It will be an online repository - where people can post videos of themselves reciting Shakespeare lines. We hope to be able to record famous personalities as well as everyday people who have been inspired by Shakespeare to be part of this project, across India," says Vivek Mansukhani, Director Arts, British Council.
The repository titled "All The World's A Stage", a monologe from one of the plays by the iconic writer, is set to culminate in a crowd sourced performance and a new digital version of Shakespeare works.

The project is part of a mega global celebration "Shakespeare Lives" to mark the iconic English poet-playwright actor's 400th death anniversary which falls in 2016, and is being coordinated by British Council with the Great Britain campaign.
Through stage plays, films, exhibitions and in schools, the programme aims to reach "over half a billion people across the world."
A new film adaptation of a Shakespeare play developed by Indian and UK Asian filmmakers is included among screenings of leading Shakespeare productions in the celebrations.

"The details are being developed and there will be announcement by June. But there will be theatre productions from the UK, and a lot of other activities," says Mansukhani.

"Power struggles, brutal politics, murder, love, passion, bitter feuds, human weakness and plain farce are universal themes as relevant now as they were when Shakespeare was writing," says Rob Lynes, Director British Council, India.
A global tour of the Royal Society of Literature poets who have written responses to Sonnets and opportunities for emerging poets and graphic novelists from around the world are among the highlights of the mega programme.
"Sonnets on the Underground" - a collaboration with Bloomsbury Publishing will see "Poems on the Underground" a popular London programme replicated in other cities.
A global short filmmaking competition, research and development grants for artists and companies, a MOOC (massive open online course), a series of workshops and public panel discussions on Shakespeare in translation, a special Shakespeare-inspired song are other highlights planned.