Globe's first theatre festival without Gigi Proietti.

Rome’s annual Shakespearean festival at the city's Globe Theatre in Villa Borghese returns for its 18th edition, from 30 June to 10 October 2021.

During the festival's launch on 7 June, Rome mayor Virginia Raggi announced the renaming of the theatre after Gigi Proietti, the much-loved actor, director and comedian who died last November on his 80th birthday.

The decision was taken in collaboration with the Silvano Toti Foundation, which financed the theatre's construction in 2003, and the building is now called the 'Gigi Proietti Globe Theatre Silvano Toti.'

Built in just three months, in the heart of the capital's Villa Borghese park, the theatre was the result of an idea by Proietti who served as the artistic director of the popular Shakespearean festival for 17 years.

• Rome to rename Globe Theatre after Gigi Proietti

This year will be the first edition without Proietti at the helm but the maestro lives on with a re-run of the Romeo and Juliet production (30 June-25 July) which he directed when it inaugurated the Globe 18 years ago.

Carlotta Proietti, who together with her sister Susanna was present at the festival's launch yesterday, said it was "thanks to our father" that the theatre is turning 18, adding: "We are happy that this season he maintains his artistic direction."

Among other shows to look forward to are Twelfth Night (28 July-8 Aug); A Midsummer Night's Dream (10-15 Aug); Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor (17 Sept-3 Oct); and Faust (7, 8 Sept).

Rome’s Globe Theatre is a full-scale timber reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe, copied from the original oak and thatch designs, and almost identical to the one that stands on London’s South Bank.

In pre-covid times the festival attracted around 65,000 spectators annually, however this year the theatre and its guests will be subject to Italy's coronavirus regulations, with numbers restricted and the mandatory wearing of masks.

Full information, including programme and booking details, should be available soon on the Globe website.

Oggi insieme alle figlie di Gigi Proietti Susanna e Carlotta e alla Fondazione Silvano Toti con il Teatro di Roma abbiamo presentato la nuova stagione. E abbiamo avuto l’onore di presentare al mondo il nuovo Gigi Proietti Globe Theatre Silvano Toti: https://t.co/BPcX0GkQdN pic.twitter.com/Ysy1WiyYr7

— Virginia Raggi (@virginiaraggi) June 7, 2021