A star of the Chinese opera form Kunqu has been commemorating the 400th anniversary of the death of the English playwright by performing one of his most famous works, Hamlet, in New York - in the classical Chinese style.
Our correspondent Lorna Shaddick went along to watch.
GENERIC: http://www.fsnradionews.com/feeds/0126ChineseOpera-ls-generic.mp3
Script:
UPSOT music
It's one of the most famous lines in Shakespeare, but you've probably never heard it like this….
UPSOT - To be or not to be….
The style is kunqu, a 600 year old art form that actor Zhang Jun hopes will perfectly complement the Bard's 400 year old verse.
SOT - Zhang Jun, Kunqu Opera Singer, UNESCO Artist of Peace (Mandarin, voiced over)
Of course Shakespeare wrote all those world renowned masterpieces. Those words become an exploration for modern day Kunqu actors. I believe it's also a dialogue between the Western culture and the traditional Chinese culture which Kunqu represents. It's a dialogue in the senses of both art form and spiritual values.
Zhang takes on four roles during the course of the piece - Hamlet, his potential bride Ophelia, the ghost of Hamlet's father and the gravedigger.
SOT - Rachel Cooper, Director, Global Performing Arts, The Asia Society
Encompassing four characters in one person is not usually how a kunshu opera unfolds. // This was taking it to a whole new level, a one man show exploring all these emotions, all these characters, and being able to transcend the work of one person and really encompass the full world of Hamlet.
Zhang is also well known as a pop star in China, and is keen to revitalise the kunqu art form - by keeping it relevant to modern times and bringing in new audiences. Combining with Shakespeare is one way to do that - and the audience seem to agree.
VOX POPS
I thought the characters were beautifully differentiated, and all of them were quite convincing, and I would like to see it again.
He's so talented. And I was really pleased to have the opportunity to see him display all his talents in singing and dancing and mime and martial arts and everything.
And Kunqu is highly sophisticated - it takes years of gruelling training to master the physically challenging art form, in which every move of a finger or flick of an eyelid is performed with great precision.
Putting Chinese and Western art together isn't necessarily a new idea for the Asia Society, but this well known Shakespeare story has proved an inspiring way for New Yorkers to access an ancient Chinese form for the first time. Lorna Shaddick, New York.