Shakespeare: Staging The World

This major exhibition is presented in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company. It will revisit William Shakespeare’s stories and tell them anew to London in 2012.

400 years ago, the playhouse dominated society, from the lowliest groundlings to kings and queens. Spanning the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras, Shakespeare used the playhouse – an exciting new way to present drama – to showcase his own particular take on history and contemporary cultures from across the world.

Maps, prints, drawings, paintings and tapestries will sit alongside arms and armour, books, coins, medals and much more. These objects will show the world that Shakespeare knew, highlight his importance at the time, and reveal how one man’s work has such a universal appeal. As well as the fantastic range of objects drawn from the British Museum’s collection and across Europe, contemporary performance will also bring Shakespeare’s world to life.