A Midsummer Night's Dream. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Shakespeare Lives is an innovative showcase of the UK's rich cultural heritage and contemporary UK creativity in China. Building on the momentum of the 2015 UK-China Year of Cultural Exchange, Shakespeare Lives features a program of events bringing cutting-edge UK culture to China.

Highlights include the Royal Shakespeare Company’s King and Country Tour, featuring Henry IV Parts 1 & 2 and Henry V; the National Theatre Live screenings across cinemas in China, including Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch; Shakespeare’s Globe presenting The Merchant of Venice and a season of films curated by the British Film Institute that present some of the great adaptations of Shakespeare’s work. As part of the British Film Institute’s showcase, world-renowned actor Sir Ian McKellen will attend the Shanghai International Film Festival

The programwill also inspire and support creative talent in the UK and China, stimulating further and deeper collaboration between artists and professionals in both countries. In a groundbreaking new collaboration, the UK’s Gecko Theatre and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center will premiere a new work in Shanghai that links legendary Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu’s Dream Plays and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream.