April 23 marks the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, Britain's most famous playwright and one of the most celebrated writers worldwide. Shakespeare's poems and his 37 plays, written between 1590 and 1613, have been translated into every major living language. Here is a look at diverse interpretations of his work, performed everywhere from South Sudan to Sweden and from a metro station to a refugee camp. (13 PHOTOS)
Shakespeare Around The World
1
An employee of Christie's Auction House in London holds the First Folio, the first published collection of Shakespeare's plays. It is considered one of the most important books in English literature.
2
Actors dance during a Persian-language performance of Shakespeare's comedy "Love's Labour's Lost" in Kabul.
3
Afghans watch "Love's Labour's Lost" in the ruins of the royal palace in Kabul.
4
Iranian actors perform a scene from "King Lear" at a theater in Tehran.
5
An Iraqi actor in make-up looks out a window before a performance in Baghdad of "Obey The Devil," a modern intepretation of Shakespeare's "Othello."
6
Iraqi actors rehearse a play based on Shakespeare's "Othello" in Baghdad.
7
Actors wearing masks perform a scene from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in a metro station in Athens, Greece.
8
At another performance of the comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream," South Korean actors pose for a photo in Sydney, Australia.
9
Actors from the South Sudan Theater Company rehearse ahead of the World Shakespeare Festival in Juba.
10
Actors play the roles of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet as other performances stage-fight during a rehearsal in Mumbai. In this staging of the play, the director made the leading roles a Muslim Romeo and a Hindu Juliet.
11
A performance of "Hamlet" at the National Theatre in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The director chose to depict Hamlet as a Muslim prince at the Ottoman court.
12
Swedish actor and director Rolf Degerlund holds an ice skull during a performance of "Hamlet" at the Icehotel in Jukkasjarvi, northern Sweden.
13
Syrian refugees walk past the "Shakespeare tent" where children are rehearsing "King Lear" in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
14
The Marjanishvili State Theater Tbilisi stages the comedy "As You Like It" in Georgian.