Shakespeare in love

Shakespeare in love, a 1998 film, was directed by John Madden and starred by Joseph Fiennes and Gwyneth Paltrow. It was one of the most successful English films of all times. The movie is placed in 1593, a period in which William Shakespeare was suffering from writer's block. It is a story about true love and love about theatre, so bringing it on the stage seemed like a natural fit. 

Last year, it was the 450th anniversary of the birth of the English author, so it was the perfect moment to perform this adaptation. The chosen theatre to bring Shakespeare back to the West End was the Noël Coward. This stage was only about one mile away from where the playwright worked so, probably, he walked pass this theatre many times in his life to get to the Globe Theatre, in Southbank. 

The premier was the 23rd of July of 2014 and today, 18th of April, the curtain dropped for the last time. The play was really fun, from the beginning to the end, with some romance, tears and love. And all of this is possible thank to the work of one of the largest companies ever seen on a play on the West End with 30 performers and a dog.

The International Day of the Book

Today, 23rd of April, we are commemorating the International Day of the Book. This event was celebrated for the first time on 1995 and it is organised by UNESCO to promote the reading. The exception is United Kingdom that helds the World Book Day on the first Thursday in March. That's because it is also St George's Day, the National Saint's Day of England. 

UNESCO did not choose that day randomly. The 22nd of April, 1616, the Spanish novelist Miguel de Cervantes died in Madrid but he was buried on the 23rd. Every year, to commemorate his work, Don Quijote is read during two days in Alcalá de Henares, the city where the poet was born. But also, Catalonia celebrates 'The Day of the Rose' since at least 1926. In that day it's a tradition to exchange a rose and a book.

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega and Josep Pla also died on that same day while Maurice Druon, Manuel Mejía Vallejo and Halldór Laxness were born.