The Irish Film Institute presents a season of films this June marking the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.

The IFI, in partnership with British Council, presents Shakespeare Lives, a season of Shakespearean film adaptations, running from June 8th to 30th. Included on the programme is Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet on stunning 70mm, a family screening of The Lion King and an open-air screening of Much Ado About Nothing, as well as a panel discussion on the topic of adaptations for stage and screen.

Orson Welles’ Chimes at Midnight kicks off the season on June 8th, with Welles himself playing the part of Sir John Falstaff, the “abominable misleader of youth” who is friend to Prince Hal (Keith Baxter), heir to the throne.

Throughout June, the IFI will also host free programmes of short archive films celebrating both the Bard’s quatercentenary and Bloomsday in its Archive at Lunchtime strand, and on June 25th, it will welcome Dr. Sam Slote, Joycean Scholar and Associate Professor of English in Trinity College, Dublin, who will explore James Joyce’s relationship with the work of Shakespeare in an introduction to the Archive at Lunchtime Double Bill at 13.00.

There is also something on offer for the younger audiences with a screening of the classic animation The Lion King on 26th June, which was inspired by one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays, Hamlet, showing as part of the IFI Family Festival.

SHAKESPEARE LIVES SCHEDULE

CHIMES AT MIDNIGHT (Orson Welles)
June 8th (18.30)

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW (Franco Zeffirelli)
June 12th (15.00)

HAMLET (70mm) (Kenneth Branagh)
June 15th (18.30) // Tickets €12 (€10 Members)

Outdoor Screening: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (Kenneth Branagh)
June 17th (20.30) // Tickets Film Only €14; Film + Food €18; Food Only €8 (No Concessions, Free List Suspended)

MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO (Gus Van Sant)
June 18th (20.30)

THE TEMPEST (Derek Jarman)
June 19th (15.00)

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD (Tom Stoppard)
June 22nd (18.30)

ARCHIVE AT LUNCHTIME – SHAKESPEARE PROGRAMME (throughout June)
With Dr. Sam Slote – June 25th (13.00)

ROMEO AND JULIET (Franco Zeffirelli)
June 25th (13.20)

THE LION KING (Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff)
Part of IFI Family Festival June 26th (11.00)

MACBETH (Roman Polanski)
Including PANEL DISCUSSION June 30th (18.15) with Theatre Director Selina Cartmell; Abbey Theatre Education Manager, Phil Kingston; actress Karen Ardiff; and lecturer Dr. Jane Grogan.

The IFI season of Shakespeare is part of British Council’s Shakespeare Lives programme celebrating Shakespeare’s work on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his death in 2016. Tickets are available online or at the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477.  