Universal Shakespeare

London is agog with celebrations marking 400 years of William Shakespeare. The Globe’s adaptation of “Hamlet” returns for its final performances after making all the world its stage; the banks of the Thames vibrate with 37 short films on his plays, and music and exhibits prove the bard played many parts in his time.

A copy of Shakespeare's First Folio, which is on display at the British Library's "Shakespeare in Ten Acts" exhibition in London.

A performance of the Globe's "Hamlet" at the National Theatre in Ethiopia in January 2015.

"Hamlet" being performed at Shakespeare's Globe.

On October 25, 2015, the Globe's "Hamlet" was staged at the Zataari refugee camp on the Jordan-Syria border. The audience was entirely Syrian. In the above picture, Dominic Dromgoole (foreground), artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe for a decade from 2006, with cast member Keith Bartlet after teh performance at the camp.

"Hamlet" at the amphitheatre in Kourion, Cyprus, in July 2014.

Amanda Wilkin as Ophelia in the performance at the Zaatari refugee camp.

Nayeem Hayat plays Hamlet in a performance at the Jungle refugee camp in Calais, France.

"Romeo and Juliet" staged in the grounds of the birthplace of Shakespeare at Statford-upon-Avon in central England on April 23.

One of the 37 screens over an eight-kilometre route along the Thames where short films of Shakespeare's plays were shown on April 23 and 24 as part of the Complete Walk project.

Crowds watch "Hamlet" on the south bank opposite St. Paul's Cathedral, part of The Complete Walk project.

"Romeo and Juliet" along the riverside, part of The Complete Walk project.

Laurence Olivier's script with his own annotations and sketeches for the 1944 screen adaptation of "Henry V", on display at the "Shakespeare in Ten Acts" exhibition.

Laurence Olivier as Hamlet in the play produced for Two Cities at Denham. The still shows Hamlet at the moment when he realises that Laertes is using a sharp sword in the duel, contrary to the rules which call for use of buttoned weapons.

James Norton plays "Richard II" at Westminster Hall in London for The Complete Walk series.

Peter Capaldi plays Titus and Ekow Quartey plays Lucius in "Titus Andronicus" for The Complete Walk series.

Nikki Amuka-Bird as Hippolyta and David Caves as Theseus in "A Midsummer Night's Dream", at Wilton House in Wiltshire, England.

Toby Jones plays Falstaff in "Henry IV Part I", at The George Inn, London.

Aidan Gillen plays Duke Vincentio in "Measure for Measure" at Liechtenstein Castle outside Vienna.

Gemma Arterton as Rosaline in "Love's Labour Lost" at Palacio Real de Olite in Navarre, Spain.

Simon Russell Beale as Timon of Athens at Areopagus hill in Greece.

Dominic West plays the role of Coriolanus, at the Ostia Antica in Rome.

Vivien Leigh as Titania in "Midsummer Night's Dream" at The Old Vic Theatre, London, in 1937.

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Ladi Emeruwa as Hamlet at the Globe's performance at the Palazzo Della Cancelleria in Vatican City. The Globe's two-year "Hamlet" world tour began on April 23, 2014, and concluded with performances at Shakespeare's Globe in London on April 23 and 24, 2016.