Eye Magazine

What with the Royal Wedding, the Queen’s (actual) birthday, Easter, St. George’s Day, and Mayday – spread over a cluster of bank holidays – there’s already plenty to celebrate in the UK this fortnight, writes John Ridpath. But if you’re looking for another excuse, raise a glass for William Shakespeare (this Saturday marks the date of the writer’s birth, and death) and the Royal Shakespeare Company, who are about to open their 50th Anniversary season.

Top: An Gee Chan, Midsummer night’s dream, screenprint (2011).

Alongside their latest batch of plays, the RSC are staging Folio: an exhibition of Shakespeare-inspired prints from the Royal College of Art. Back in 1964, the college’s Printmaking Department produced a series of lithographs to celebrate the playwright’s quatro-centenary. Original prints from this series will be exhibited, as well as newer works by guest artists, students and staff at the RCA. The exhibition continues until 1 October – so don’t worry if you've already got enough to celebrate this month.

Above: Bernard Cheese – Shakespeare’s Kings, lithograph, 1964.

Below: Joe Tilson – Shakespeare’s XV Sonnet, lithograph, 1964.

Above: Justyna Kabala, Lady Macbeth, photo lithograph (2011).

Below: Eleanor Lines, All that Glisters is not Gold, screenprint and photo lithograph (2011).

Above: Adam Dant – The Theatre, Shoreditch, three-colour chiaroscuro woodcut, 2010.

Below: Norman Ackroyd – Richard III, Lithograph, 1964.

> 1 October 2011
Folio
Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BB, UK
www.rsc.org.uk
www.rca.ac.uk

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