The willingness of a collector to snap up Shakespeare’s Four Folios ahead of an auction scheduled this May in London speaks volumes for the insatiable appetite that remains for the English playwright’s extraordinary output and legacy today, more than 400 years after his death. Given media speculation that this rare suite of the Bard’s published works would prompt bids of up to £4.5 million (HK$48 million), the price offered privately and accepted by the seller is likely to be astronomical.

It is highly unusual for all four Shakespeare Folios to appear on the market as a single lot. The last time this happened was in 1989, when Sotheby’s – which also handled the recent sale ¬– auctioned a set in New York for US$2 million (HK$15.7 million). Titled Mr William Shakespeares [sic] Comedies, Histories & Tragedies, the First Folio was published in 1623, seven years after his death at the behest of two of his friends. The book contained 36 plays and had an initial print-run of about 750 copies; three further editions were released between 1632 and 1685.

According to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Bard of Avon penned a total of 38 plays, including collaborations with other writers. The first, The Taming of the Shrew, is believed to have been completed before 1592, the year Shakespeare turned 28, and the last, The Two Noble Kinsmen, was written in 1613-14.

The unending global fascination with Shakespeare’s works is reflected in the high estimate for the suite that exchanged hands in April, thus nullifying the intended auction. Andrea Smith, Lecturer in English and Creative Writing at the University of Suffolk in England, who has written extensively about the Bard, attributes this, in part, to his celebrity status. “Anything rare – and all four folios together is extremely rare – might fetch a high price, especially if they’re linked to a celebrity – and I think Shakespeare has become a celebrity over the centuries,” she explains.

“I’d love to say [this is] just because the plays are brilliant, but it’s more than that. There’s mystery about the man himself – we know very little about him. And there’s a long history of holding his works in high regard among both academics and theatre professionals. When someone’s been on a pedestal as long as he has, it’s quite hard to knock him off!”

Stories for All Times

Smith was first drawn to Shakespeare’s stories and characters, and subsequently his superbly crafted words. Although his language might initially be viewed as odd and old-fashioned in the contemporary era, this is “what keeps you there”, she says. “If it were just the plots and characters, I don’t think we’d have his words any more – he’d just be cannibalised by modern writers for his ideas. Instead, his plays are still being staged.”

She opines that many of his plays have not dated in the same way as those of his contemporaries since the majority were not set in England in his lifetime. They also have a compelling political dimension and embrace universal themes such as leadership, fairness in society, responsibility and gender politics.

In an added bonus, there is less of a language barrier for the global audience when they read Shakespeare. “If you’re reading him in a modern translation, he’s already in your contemporary language,” she notes.

Smith leans towards the romantic comedies when asked to name her favourites among the Bard’s vast body of work. “Perhaps Much Ado About Nothing – I’m particularly fond of Beatrice and Benedick, the ex-lovers who fall in love all over again with some hefty nudges from their friends,” she says. Some of the lesser-known plays also make her list, particularly the three parts of Henry VI. “They’re set during the Wars of the Roses and are rarely performed, but they’re a fascinating take on the impact of war on everyone involved.”

The Heart of Being Human

Macbeth, Shakespeare’s famous tragedy about ambition, power and loss, was directed by Alexandra Spencer-Jones during a sell-out run in Hong Kong last year. For Spencer-Jones, Artistic Director of London-based theatre company Action to the Word, the Bard succeeds in cutting to the core of what it is to be human. “He’s a psychologist, a romantic, a pessimist, an optimist and sometimes even a protofeminist,” she notes. “Somehow, he has me by the hand, and says to me through his work, ‘I’ve got you’. I think a lot of people feel like that about him.”

As a playwright, Shakespeare traverses geographical borders, language barriers and cultural conditions. “His talent for boring into the very heart of what it is to be human – to live, to die, to love and to suffer – touches us all deeply, regardless of where we were born, the money in our bank account or the cultural education we have received,” she says. “He’s the most honest playwright of all time.”

Tales of Tragedy

According to Spencer-Jones, Macbeth fits the model of a perfect tragedy, and is a masterpiece on the page and to direct. She describes the main protagonist as the ideal tragic hero – someone for whom we feel pity, fear and disgust. “The play has everything that makes good drama – mystery and prophecy, amazingly written central characters who enthral us, terrible jeopardy and exquisite language.”

If she were to choose one play as her personal standout, it would be King Lear – a heart-shattering exploration what it is to grow old and the dreadful ordeal of survival of the fittest. Her favourite to direct was the “vicious and ridiculous” Titus Andronicus – an early vengeance tale about defending one’s family to the literal death – while “it was such an honour to speak his words” when playing Juliet’s Nurse in Romeo & Juliet, which is such a “beautifully written and carefully crafted” play.

Spencer-Jones marvels at how Shakespeare’s plots have transcended his Elizabethan English writing. She points to ballets and symphonies based on his scripts, and the amazing immersive theatrical experience of Sleep No More by Punchdrunk, which is inspired by Macbeth. “If Shakespeare were alive today, he would be writing the most accessible and well-loved television shows,” she says.

The Power of Theatre

Nicholas Beckwith, Artistic Director of Hong Kong-based performing arts NGO Shakespeare4All, believes the Bard was exploring his own psyche when creating worlds outside his experience, such as a magical forest (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) or ancient Egypt (Antony & Cleopatra). “I think it’s about stepping into someone else’s shoes, and the power of theatre allows you to do that. And that’s why audiences continue to keep enjoying Shakespeare,” he says.

Among a huge cast of diverse characters, Beckwith considers the fools to be the most interesting – like Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream or the Fool in King Lear. “Shakespeare had this beautiful way that the fool characters were often the ones that were the most honest or the most piercing with their language,” he says.

He also notes how one’s response to Shakespeare’s writing can change over time, with different elements provoking a different understanding of the plays – one of the reasons why people will revisit them throughout their life.

Beckwith’s group of professional actors takes Shakespeare to various districts of Hong Kong, hoping to inspire local youths to tread the boards themselves. He says: “A lot of people can see Shakespeare as elitist, but it is his stories, his themes, his characters that are accessible, and watching young people in Hong Kong be inspired by the stories and discover things about themselves that they didn’t know is really empowering.”