During their stay, the young performers, who hail from Austria, Poland, Bulgaria, Iceland, Estonia, Britain, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and anywhere else they may choose, gather round an experienced professional ›artist in residence‹ in order to rehearse and mount a production of a Shakespeare play. All major parts are played by young professionals and drama students, minor roles offer theatre-crazy students and senior pupils the opportunity to acquire experience adn training.  So far, our actors hail from renowned acting colleges in Britain, Sweden and Austria, we hope to expand these co-operations as we go. The text is heavily shortened, but left in the original Shakespearean English.

The final public performances are important and are held in the renaissance courtyard of the magnificent palace in Murau which belongs to the great European Schwarzenberg family. In bad weather we perform in the romantic barn downhill from the palace hall.

Whilst the peformances represent the climax of the experience, the getting-there is equally important. Participants are offered the chance to work and live with fellow Europeans in a comfortable hotel and experience just what it means to be involved in a professional theatre environment; they are expected to lend a hand with all aspects of theatre-work and thus can gain invaluable practice and expertise.

We, in turn, offer speech training, theatre-training, additional work on dance, music, language and acting as well as in-depth talks on interpreting Shakespeare, achieving real honesty and depth with plays that are so often just performed without much thought.

We have a regular ›leading team‹ of trainers and coaches who, like ourselves, all give of their time for no remuneration, just for the love of it.

Productions – »A Midsummer Night's Dream«, »Twelfth Night«, »The Taming of the Shrew«, »The Merry Wives of Windsor« and »The Tempest« so far – are simple, as we rely on truth of interpretation and good costumes together with lively productions to hold the interest of our audiences; elaborate theatre would be against all we stand for and not justifiable given our budget and time schedule.

As a result of the shortness of the time ( it will remain short even if we should be able, one day, to extend the duration to three weeks), this is an intense and exciting experience for all concerned, demanding discipline and hard-work if the show is to be ready on time. Nevertheless there is plenty of time for fun and laughter. We try to keep the tears for the farewells at the end when it is all over.

Until now we have survived on a minimum of support and sponsorship, with most participants paying their own way. We have now aroused considerable interest and are funded both by the Styrian Regional Government and the Austrian Federal Government as well as by the town of Murau. We are grateful both to our subsidisers and to our private sponsors  whon have showed their faith in us with great generosity. We are also indebted to Princess Schwarzenberg for her generosity and quiet but active support.

In 2007 we are, for the first time, holding »European Shakespeare Days« from 19 – 22 July with concerts, lectures, readings alongside three performances of »Romeo and Juliet«.

Young actors and acting students interested should contact us during the autumn or winter, at the latest, as we aim to have our cast together well before Easter each year. In 2007 we plan to follow the 2006 »The Tempest« production with one of »Romeo and Juliet«. We look forward to hearing from you.  

Nick Allen,
June, 2007