The World Theatre Season was a festival of foreign plays held annually at the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

Aldwych Theatre The Aldwych Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Aldwych in the City of Westminster, central London. It was listed Grade II on 20 July 1971. Its seating capacity is 1,200 on three levels. History Origins The theatre was constructed in th ...

in London from 1964 to 1973, with a final season in 1975. It originated as a one-off celebration in 1964 organised by Peter Daubeny and the Royal Shakespeare Company as part of the celebrations for

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

quatercentenary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints. ...

. In the 1950s, Peter Daubeny had presented foreign theatre companies, which gave him a knowledge of foreign theatre and served as a prelude to the World Theatre Seasons.Michael Denison, ‘Daubeny, Sir Peter Lauderdale (1921–1975)’, rev. ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004. Seven companies appeared at this initial World Theatre Season: Comédie Française; Schiller-Theater;

Peppino de Filippo Peppino De Filippo (born Giuseppe De Filippo; 24 August 1903 – 27 January 1980) was an Italian actor. De Filippo was born in Naples, brother of actor and dramatist Eduardo De Filippo and of Titina De Filippo. He made his stage debut at th ...

's Italian Theatre;

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

; Polish Contemporary Theatre; Greek Art Theatre; and

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

. The season's success led to it becoming an annual event, with more than forty theatre companies appearing in total. Nevertheless, the seasons continued to be organised by Peter Daubeny without support from the Arts Council or any other official body. Theatrical companies visited from Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including evenings dedicated to Japanese

nō is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

and

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

. Appearances at the World Theatre Season sometimes led to little-known plays achieving international acclaim, as was notably the case with Welcome Msomi's '' Umubatha'', a Zulu version of Shakespeare's ''

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 ...

'', which was presented in 1972.{{cite journal, last=Broich, first=U, title=Present-day versions of Macbeth in England, France and Germany, journal=German Life and Letters, year=1975 Peter Daubeny's involvement in the World Theatre Seasons led to him winning the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

special award Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer Literature * ''Specia ...

in 1972.

References

Theatre festivals in England Festivals in London