Shakespeare lovers, hark ye

A visit to Stratford-upon-Avon in England next year and in 2007 will be anything but routine. The Bard’s birthplace, about 100 miles northwest of London, is the stage for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s most ambitious festival ever.

All of William Shakespeare’s plays will be presented over a yearlong period starting April 6.

Besides 15 productions by the resident company, more than 40 visiting troupes from 18 countries, including the U.S., India, Japan and South Africa, will participate.

To accommodate the crowds, a 1,000-seat Courtyard Theatre is scheduled to open in July. After the festival ends in 2007, it will become the company’s main venue while the Royal Shakespeare Theatre undergoes major changes. The renovations include restoring the Art Deco facade and fountain staircase of the original theater, which dates back to the 1930s; creating a 1,000-seat thrust-stage auditorium, allowing for seats on three sides; expanding foyers and shops; and improving access for people with disabilities

The transformation of the Stratford-upon-Avon theaters is expected to cost about $174 million.

Besides the theaters, plays in “The Complete Works” festival will be staged in unusual venues, such as Holy Trinity Church, where Shakespeare is buried.

Among the stars coming out for the festival are Patrick Stewart, performing in “Antony and Cleopatra” (April 12 to Oct. 14) and “The Tempest” (July 28 to Oct. 12); Judi Dench, in “The Merry Wives of Windsor” (Dec. 2 to Feb. 10, 2007); and Ian McKellen in “King Lear” (dates pending).

Testifying to the worldwide influence of Shakespeare nearly four centuries after his death, multicultural productions such as Yukio Ninagawa’s “Titus Andronicus” (June 15 to 24) will fuse East and West. There will even be a pan-Arab version of “Richard III” (Feb. 8 to 17, 2007) that is described as “focusing on Saddam Hussein’s early days as a secular Arab hero.”

U.S. companies from Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C., will contribute stagings of plays such as “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “The Merchant of Venice.”

Besides plays, the festival will offer backstage tours; an outdoor film festival in August; pre- and post-show talks with actors and directors; and a fringe festival with works by amateur, school and student groups, staged at a new outdoor space on the riverbank.

Tickets, $8.70 to $73, are on sale for performances April 6 to Oct. 6. Sales for the rest of the festival are expected to begin in March.

You can purchase tickets online, by phone or by fax. Call 011-44-1789-403-444 or visit www.rsc.org.uk. (Click on “The Complete Works.”)

Ticket sales have been strong, but seats are available for most productions, said Joanna Hammond, a spokeswoman for the Royal Shakespeare Company. Advance purchase is recommended for more popular productions.

Because of the festival, hotels in the area are expected to be busier than usual starting in April, Hammond added. For information on lodging, visit www.shakespeare-country.co.uk or www.visitheartofengland.com. You can also search at www.visitbritain.com.