York International Shakespeare Festival

Artists from the UK, the United States, Ukraine, Japan, Bulgaria, France and Turkey will arrive in York for 10 days of world and UK premieres, storytelling in schools and libraries, book launches, seminars, lectures and exhibitions.

While York St John University has been a main venue partner and organiser before, the 2024 festival marks the beginning of a three-year sponsorship linked to the University’s School of Humanities and the School of the Arts. 
 
A large number of events will take place on the University campus, a highlight being the UK premiere of Becoming Othello: A Black Girl’s Journey, written by and starring Debra Ann Byrd, Founding Artistic Director of the Harlem Shakespeare Festival. Debra Ann will perform the show twice on campus, as well as give a Symposium Keynote Lecture about Shakespeare and Identity. 
 
Other cultural highlights taking place at the University include: 

• a world premiere collaborative project produced by the Festival and the National Theatre of Ivano-Frankivsk from Ukraine, featuring artists from York’s Ukrainian community 
• Twelfth Night, the first full Shakespeare production performed in the UK by Footsbarn Travelling Theatre in over 15 years 
• the world premiere of Hamlet: Double Bill, performed by Italy’s La Ribalta Teatro, a production which provides the viewpoints of the gravediggers and the Players on Shakespeare’s tragedy.