From the Folger Shakespeare Library, this is Shakespeare Unlimited.

I'm Michael Whitmore, the Folgers director.

This podcast is called There is a World Elsewhere.

In 2012, journalist Andrew Dixon watched a Shakespeare play in London that set him off on a quest.

When it ended, he had traveled to Poland, Germany, India, China,

and all across the United States. He chronicled his travels in a book titled Worlds Elsewhere,

journeys around Shakespeare's Globe, where he explains what the play was that set him off on this

journey and just what it was he was hoping to find.

Andrew is interviewed by Neva Grant.

Your adventure started after you saw a performance of The Comedy of Errors at an international festival in London.

And this particular play was performed by a troop from Afghanistan, right?

Exactly, yeah. It was 2012.

And it was the summer that the Olympics were in London.

And as part of the Olympics, there was also alongside it, a thing called the Cultural Olympiad.

And part of that was a thing called the World Shakespeare Festival.

So basically, many, many different companies from all across the world turned up in London, doing their own kinds of Shakespeare in Armenian, in Bengali, in Cantonese.

And one of the performances I happened to see was at the Globe.

And it was, as you say, a performance of the Comedy of Eras by a company from Afghanistan.

And I have to say, I mean, it was a slightly doomy summer's afternoon. I had a lot

of work on. I was like, oh gosh, why am I here watching a performance of the comedy of errors,

which is no one's favorite Shakespeare play, translated into Dari Persian. And it has to be said,

my breath was completely taken away. It was such an entrancing performance.

...