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The Taming of the Shrew, above, is one of nine plays on this summer's program.
Following Czechosolvakia's liberation from communism, President Václav Havel knew his country had a valuable asset to help it get back on its feet: historical sights of interest and beauty. One of his early projects then was to encourage artists to promote Prague Castle by way of Shakespeare performances. As is typical with Havel, what began as a tiny seed of an idea has blossomed into a vital part of Czech culture - celebrated throughout the country and beyond.
From modest and staggered beginnings (A Midsummer Night's Dream in 1990, followed by Romeo and Juliet in 1994), the Summer Shakespeare Festival (SSF) has become the largest and longest-running event of its kind in Europe. This year, no less than eight of the Bard's plays will be performed to a throng that reaches up to 87,000 theatergoers over the course of the season. So how did the festival ever reach these epic proportions?
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