"The International Shakespeare Festival in Romania was founded in Craiova, in 1994 and for the first five editions took place every three years. Since 2006, it has taken place every two years. The main organizers of the festival are the ”Marin Sorescu” National Theatre, Craiova, and the “William Shakespeare” Foundation," the European Shakespeare Festivals Network says.

"Since 2006, the Festival has also taken place in Bucharest, in collaborations with ArCub-Bucharest, with the Romanian Cultural Institute and with the Nottara Theatre, involving new audiences and diversifying its events. Some of the performances presented in Craiova have been also presented in several locations in the Oltenia region.

"So far festival has presented works of the most famous international directors such as Peter Brook, Robert Wilson, Declan Donnellan, Lev Dodin, Eimuntas Nekrosius, and Silviu Purcarete, Thomas Ostermeier, Oskaras Korsunovas, Yoshihiro Kurita, Yun Taek-Lee, Elizabeth LeCompte, Eimuntas Nekrosius . It gives opportunity for theatre professionals and audiences to compare, discuss, comment, and debate."

"The Festival also includes seminars and conferences; workshops on acting, directing, design and criticism; film projections of famous performances; symphonic concerts; theatre design, painting, photographic and philatelic exhibitions, as well as theatre book and DVD launches," the European Shakespeare Festivals Network says.

"A great number of foreign and Romanian theatre critics have attended the festival through the years, and record their opinion that it is one of the best thematic European festivals. Craiova International Shakespeare Festival was awarded the Prize for Excellence granted by Uniter, the Romanian Theatre Association."

"A Shakespeare festival is a theatre organization that stages the works of William Shakespeare continually. In 1830, the Mulberry Club (a scholarly group formed in Stratford-upon-Avon, named after the destroyed New Place mulberry tree) began organising annual festivities on Shakespeare's birthday, which they referred to as the "Shakespeare Festival". These continued until at least 1836.[1] From 1886 to 1919, Frank Benson directed 28 spring and six summer "Shakespeare festivals" at the original Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford

"n 1935 the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, or OSF, was founded in Ashland, Oregon, USA. Originally named the "Oregon Shakespearean Festival"; the name was changed in 1988. Angus L. Bowmer, founder of OSF, wrote in 1954 that Shakespeare Festivals have in common the following attributes: 1) established firmly in one place; 2) repertoire (staging a variety of Shakespeare plays) and 3) a physical stage similar to that used in Shakespeare's lifetime.[

"According to Bowmer, the inspiration for Elizabethan staging of contemporary Shakespeare productions came from William Poel, an English director who organized the Elizabethan Stage Society in London in the early 20th century. His concepts of Elizabethan staging were brought to North America by Ben Iden Payne." (Wikipedia)

"During May 16-26, 2024, 30 shows by Robert Wilson, Peter Brook, Declan Donnellan, Robert Lepage and other world-renowned directors will be played in seven theaters in Craiova, while in more than 30 conventional and unconventional spaces, on the streets of the neighborhoods, squares and parks, you will feel the Shakespearean spirit," the official website says.

"Over 300 events – performances, concerts, exhibitions, parades, communication sessions, conferences, book launches, student theater workshops – will take place on a journey through space and time, from the year 1600, through Shakespeare Village, until the future, through Shakespeare Dimensions: a foray into virtual reality in an AI-based multimedia cube, supported by NEPI Rockcastle and hosted by Promenada Mall.

"This year's edition of International Shakespeare Festival will debut on Thursday, May 16, at the "Marin Sorescu" National Theatre, with the show "The Tempest”, directed by Robert Wilson and presented by the National Theater "Ivan Vazov" in Sofia, Bulgaria. The performances will be played on the same stage: "Hamlet", directed by him Declan Donnellan, produced by National Craiovean, "Tempest project / Tempest project", in the direction Peter Brook and Marie-Hélène Estienne, from the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris, France, "Hamlet, the dance of the melancholic / Hamlet, the dance of the melancholic”, a flamenco show in Seville, Spain, directed by him Jesus Herrera, and last but not least, the festival will end on May 26, with "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark / Hamlet, Prince of Denmark", in the direction Robert Lepage, produced by Ex Machina in Quebec, Canada."

"On Sunday, May 26, the 14th edition of the International Shakespeare Theater Festival in Craiova came to a close. The festival featured over 380 events in more than 70 venues. On the stages of the Shakespeare Festival in Craiova, audiences could enjoy productions by internationally renowned directors such as Robert Wilson, Peter Brook, Declan Donnellan, Robert Lepage, Silviu Purcărete, and Andrei Șerban," the CNR UNESCO says.



"The National University of Theatre and Film "I.L. Caragiale" in Bucharest (UNATC), as a co-organizer of the Festival, strengthened the educational aspect of the festival by organizing over 100 events in unconventional spaces. The educational workshops were held under the patronage of the Romanian National Commission for UNESCO (CNR UNESCO)."

"William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard".

"His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted."

"Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest works in English. In the last phase of his life he wrote tragicomedies (also known as romances) such as The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, and collaborated with other playwrights." (Wikipedia)

"The Avignon OFF 2025 Festival, one of the world's most prominent performing arts events, and the Craiova International Shakespeare Festival (FISC) 2026, the world's most important thematic festival dedicated to the English Bard, partner for Shakespeare Of(f) Avignon, a one-off international theatrical collaboration, promoting the universal legacy of the famed playwright, the 'Marin Sorescu' National Theater in Craiova announced," the Romanian News Agency Agerpres reports.

"Under this initiative, two shows from the Avignon OFF 2025 program will be invited to the official FISC 2026, the place where for 30 years now, theater lovers and professional audiences have been discovering the Shakespearean universe as rendered by the world's greatest artists. The performances will be selected by the actors from the Shakespeare Everywhere theater dissemination caravan and, respectively, by the foreign and French press from the 18 productions inspired from William Shakespeare's works presented this summer in Avignon."

"Craiova is the largest city in southwestern Romania, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia.

"It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians (north) and the River Danube (south). Craiova is the chief commercial city west of Bucharest and the most important city of Oltenia. The city prospered as a regional trading center despite an earthquake in 1790, a plague in 1795, and a Turkish assault in 1802 during which it was burned." (Wikipedia)

"Ford Otosan Romania SRL, commonly referred to as Ford Romania, is an automobile manufacturing company operated by Ford Otosan, located in Craiova, Romania. The company was established in 2008 after Ford's purchase of Daewoo Automobile Romania. In 2022, the Ford Romania company was purchased by Ford Otosan and changed its name to Ford Otosan Romania SRL.

"The first Ford subsidiary company in Romania was founded in Bucharest in 1931 and functioned until 1948 when it was nationalized by the Communist authorities. In the 1930s the factory owned by Ford Româna could manufacture 600–700 vehicles per year and was one of six Ford facilities with both assembly and production lines." (Wikipedia)

"Although less known (and visited) than Bucharest, the capital, Craiova, in southwestern Romania, is a cultural hotspot with numerous events throughout the year, including the Shakespeare Festival, the world’s largest international festival dedicated to the playwright," the Forbes magazine reports.

"For electronic dance music lovers, the IntenCity Festival is every June with open-air performances. And a more unusual event, Puppets Occupy Street Festival in August, involves giant puppets and immersive performances. Craiova holds a special place in the story of Constantin Brâncuși, who studied at the city's School of Arts and Crafts.

"As the pioneer of modernist sculpture, his works are at major museums around the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Pompidou in Paris and Tate Modern in London, among others. A visit to Craiova should include the Brâncuși Centre for a fascinating look at his life and The Craiova Art Museum, housing his work."

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