The Bonn University Shakespeare Company e.V. (''BUSC'') is an independent theatre company based at the University of Bonn, Germany. It was founded by students of the Department of English, American, and Celtic Studies. University-bonn 2005-11-18

History

The BUSC was founded in November 1992 by English Studies students Thilo Veenema and Magnus Huber after the previous theatre company at the English Department had broken up. According to §21 BGB, it is a strictly non-commercial organisation. In 2015, the group had about a hundred active members and nearly two hundred former members. The group's main aim is the promotion of art and culture in Bonn and the area, especially the promotion of the works of Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other English-language authors. The group is particularly interested in cooperating with schools in the area. Furthermore, the BUSC collaborates with Shakespeare scholars like Uwe Baumann (University of Bonn) and Russell Jackson ( University of Birmingham), the latter of which has previously worked as an advisor for film adaptations of Shakespeare's work. The company's performance programmes usually contain academic articles on the play performed, written by professors and lecturers at the University of Bonn. Normally, the BUSC performs about two plays per year, one in the summer term and one in the winter term. All plays are performed in the original English version, the only exception being “Vell Jedöhns wääje nüß”, a Rhineland dialect translation of Much Ado About Nothing, in the year 2000. For this production the group was awarded the “Martin-Lehnert-Preis” by the German Shakespeare Society. Most performances take place at the Brotfabrik theatre in Bonn-Beuel, where the plays are performed for six to ten days in a row. The average number of performances per production is seven. BROTFAB

Apart from Shakespeare's plays, the group also performs tragedies and comedies by

Christopher Marlowe Christopher Marlowe, also known as Kit Marlowe (; baptised 26 February 156430 May 1593), was an English playwright, poet and translator of the Elizabethan era. Marlowe is among the most famous of the Elizabethan playwrights. Based upon the ...

, John Ford,

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

or T.S. Eliot. In 2002, the group staged their first musical with

Little Shop of Horrors Little Shop of Horrors may refer to: * '' The Little Shop of Horrors'', a 1960 film directed by Roger Corman ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (musical), a 1982 musical based on the 1960 film ** ''Little Shop of Horrors'' (film), a 1986 film adaptat ...

. In 2003 and 2004, the BUSC were invited to perform at the reconstructed

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in Neuss, Germany, with their productions of Timon of Athens and “Vell Jedöhns wääje nüß/Much Ado About Nothing”. Within Bonn, the group also performed at the Haus der Springmaus theatre, on Bonn's Museumsmeile, and

Poppelsdorf Palace Poppelsdorf Palace (German: ''Poppelsdorfer Schloss'') is a Baroque building in the Poppelsdorf district of Bonn, western Germany, which is now part of the University of Bonn. Design and construction The design of a new structure to replace th ...

. In 2002, the group's ten year anniversary was celebrated with a one-week Shakespeare festival consisting of performances and talks. Every now and then, members of the BUSC have the opportunity to attend workshops with theatre professionals, for example in Shakespeare's home town of

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

in 2005.

Productions

* Winter 1993:

Richard II Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father died ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1994: Doctor Faustus (C. Marlowe) * Autumn 1994: The Taming of the Shrew (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1995:

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1995:

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Winter 1995: Pericles, Prince of Tyre (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1996: Few but roses (Sonnets, W. Shakespeare) * Winter 1996: Angels in America (T. Kushner) * Summer 1997:

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Winter 1997: The Winter's Tale (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1998: The Importance of Being Earnest (O. Wilde) * Winter 1998: The Merchant of Venice (W. Shakespeare) * Spring 1999: The Two Gentlemen of Verona (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1999:

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 1999: The Tempest (W. Shakespeare) * Winter 1999: Titus Andronicus (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2000: Twelfth Night (W. Shakespeare) * Autumn 2000: Vell Jedöhns wääje nüß (original: Much Ado About Nothing, W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2000: Murder in the Cathedral (T.S. Eliot) * Summer 2001: Cymbeline (W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2001: Henry V (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2002:

(A. Menken/H. Ashman) * Summer 2002:

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2002: Hamlet (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2003: Timon of Athens (W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2003: The Changeling (T. Middleton/W. Rowley) * Summer 2004: Our Country's Good (T. Wertenbaker) * Summer 2004:

(W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2004:

The Country Wife ''The Country Wife'' is a Restoration comedy written by William Wycherley and first performed in 1675. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for ...

(W. Wycherley) * Summer 2005:

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2005:

An Ideal Husband ''An Ideal Husband'' is a four-act play by Oscar Wilde that revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. It was first produced at the Haymarket Theatre, London in 1895 and ran for ...

(O. Wilde) * Summer 2006:

(W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2006:

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest may refer to: * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (novel), a 1962 novel by Ken Kesey * ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (play), a 1963 stage adaptation of the novel starring Kirk Douglas * ''One Flew Over the ...

(D. Wasserman/K. Kesey) * Summer 2007: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (C. Hampton/C. de Laclos) * Winter 2007:

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2008: TroilusWAHN und CressidaTHEATER (W. Shakespeare/W. Schwab) * Winter 2008:

The Roman Actor ''The Roman Actor'' is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger. It was first performed in 1626, and first published in 1629. A number of critics have agreed with its author, and judged it one of Massinger's best plays. ...

(P. Massinger) * Summer 2009: A Clockwork Orange (A. Burgess) * Winter 2009:

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2010: Man of the Moment (A. Ayckbourn) * Winter 2010:

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2011: The Taming of the Shrew (W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2011:

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2012: Lady Windermere's Fan (O. Wilde) * Winter 2012:

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2013: The Crucible (A. Miller) * Winter 2013: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (L. Carroll) * Summer 2014: Twelfth Night (W. Shakespeare) * Winter 2014: Titus Andronicus (W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2015:

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

(A. Dumas) * Winter 2015:

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2016: The Master and Margarita (M. Bulgakov) * Winter 2016:

(W. Shakespeare) * Summer 2017:

All's Well That Ends Well ''All's Well That Ends Well'' is a play by William Shakespeare, published in the ''First Folio'' in 1623, where it is listed among the comedies. There is a debate regarding the dating of the composition of the play, with possible dates rangin ...

(both by W. Shakespeare)

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