US President Barack Obama has begun his final day in London by touring a theatre dedicated to the work of William Shakespeare.
Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death and he is being celebrated throughout the UK.
The Globe theatre is a replica of the circular, open-air playhouse that Shakespeare designed in 1599.
Mr Obama watched a brief performance of a portion of Hamlet, including the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy.
The scenes were performed by actors from a company of 16, who embarked on a two-year world tour in 2014 playing to more than 100,000 people in 197 countries - every country on Earth except North Korea and Iran.
Obama described the performance as "wonderful".
During the scenes, Mr Obama stood in the open-air theatre watching intently and was seen swaying back and forth on his feet to the music.
As the US President toured the theatre, he spent several minutes looking at the structure and asking questions about the seating and performances.
Barack Obama visits Globe on Shakespeare anniversary
BBC News
23 April 2016
Mr Obama spent several minutes admiring the structure of the Globe theatre on what is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death as well as St George's Day
US President Barack Obama has begun his final day in London by touring a theatre dedicated to the work of William Shakespeare.
Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death and he is being celebrated throughout the UK.
The Globe theatre is a replica of the circular, open-air playhouse that Shakespeare designed in 1599.
Mr Obama watched a brief performance of a portion of Hamlet, including the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy.
The scenes were performed by actors from a company of 16, who embarked on a two-year world tour in 2014 playing to more than 100,000 people in 197 countries - every country on Earth except North Korea and Iran.
Obama described the performance as "wonderful".
During the scenes, Mr Obama stood in the open-air theatre watching intently and was seen swaying back and forth on his feet to the music.
As the US President toured the theatre, he spent several minutes looking at the structure and asking questions about the seating and performances.
Actors performed a scene from Hamlet for Mr Obama
Mr Obama described the performance as 'wonderful'
The Globe theatre is on the south bank of the Thames in the London Borough of Southwark
The audience stands to watch the plays as they did in Shakespeare's time
Celebrations are taking place across the UK over the course of the weekend to mark the anniversary.
David Tennant will host a BBC celebration on Saturday night live from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The event will be attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Former Doctor Who, David Tennant, will host BBC Two's Shakespeare Live programme
Performers at Shakespeare Live - which begins on BBC Two at 20:30 BST - will include Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Helen Mirren and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Other names on the bill include Rory Kinnear, Meera Syal, Joseph Fiennes, David Suchet, Simon Russell Beale, Roger Allam, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Harriet Walter, John Lithgow, Anne-Marie Duff and the cast of Horrible Histories.
Discover more about Shakespeare
Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gregory Porter will perform for Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall on Saturday evening
As well as theatrical performances, the show will feature hip-hop, blues, jazz, opera and classical music that has been inspired by Shakespeare's plays.
Throughout the day on Saturday, Shakespeare's Globe will be screening short films of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays on giant screens along the banks of the Thames, between Tower Bridge and Westminster.
The films feature actors delivering their lines in the locations where the plays are set - such as Cleopatra in Egypt, Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum and Hamlet at Elsinore.
Among the star names involved in the project, entitled The Complete Walk, are Gemma Arterton, Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, James Norton, Zawe Ashton and current Doctor Who Peter Capaldi.
Dominic Dromgoole, the Globe's artistic director, who will stand down on Sunday, revealed on Friday that the short films had just all been given a "U" classification apart from one film, Pericles, which is a PG.
"That astonished us, we thought some of the others might be closer to the margins, so we'll have to put up signs around that saying it needs parental guidance," Mr Dromgoole said.
The weekend will also see the return of the Globe's worldwide tour of Hamlet, which has spent the last two years travelling to almost every country in the world.
Shakespeare: England's greatest storyteller
Born in 1564, and the earliest record of his writing dates from 1592
Wrote around 38 full plays including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth
Words including "assassination", "addiction", "generous" and "bedroom" had their first recorded uses in his plays
Introduced phrases like "elbow room", "heart of gold" and "tower of strength" to the English language
Acted as well as wrote, and owned a share in the original Globe theatre
Died on 23 April 1616, aged 52
In depth: Shakespeare's life and legacy.
On Saturday afternoon, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be in Stratford-upon-Avon, where the playwright was born.
They will visit the site of the playwright's adult home for 19 years - now being transformed into a tourist attraction called Shakespeare's New Place, and due to open to the public in July. They will also go to see his grave, situated at Holy Trinity Church.
And in the evening the royal couple will attend Shakespeare Live, which is being broadcast from Stratford-upon-Avon.
BBC Radio 3 will also be broadcasting a weekend of Shakespeare-inspired music and performance live from the Bard's hometown.
And some of Shakespeare's best known characters - including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and King Lear - will be featuring along a stretch of the River Thames in London.
Elsewhere, leading arts organisations across the UK will make available performances, analysis and talks.
All material will be streamed on Shakespeare Day Live, a digital pop-up channel which kicks off Shakespeare Lives, a six month online festival.
Barack Obama visits Globe on Shakespeare anniversary - BBC News
Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death and he is being celebrated throughout the UK.
The Globe theatre is a replica of the circular, open-air playhouse that Shakespeare designed in 1599.
Mr Obama watched a brief performance of a portion of Hamlet, including the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy.
The scenes were performed by actors from a company of 16, who embarked on a two-year world tour in 2014 playing to more than 100,000 people in 197 countries - every country on Earth except North Korea and Iran.
Obama described the performance as "wonderful".
During the scenes, Mr Obama stood in the open-air theatre watching intently and was seen swaying back and forth on his feet to the music.
As the US President toured the theatre, he spent several minutes looking at the structure and asking questions about the seating and performances.
Barack Obama visits Globe on Shakespeare anniversary
BBC News
23 April 2016
Mr Obama spent several minutes admiring the structure of the Globe theatre on what is the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death as well as St George's Day
US President Barack Obama has begun his final day in London by touring a theatre dedicated to the work of William Shakespeare.
Saturday marks the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death and he is being celebrated throughout the UK.
The Globe theatre is a replica of the circular, open-air playhouse that Shakespeare designed in 1599.
Mr Obama watched a brief performance of a portion of Hamlet, including the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy.
The scenes were performed by actors from a company of 16, who embarked on a two-year world tour in 2014 playing to more than 100,000 people in 197 countries - every country on Earth except North Korea and Iran.
Obama described the performance as "wonderful".
During the scenes, Mr Obama stood in the open-air theatre watching intently and was seen swaying back and forth on his feet to the music.
As the US President toured the theatre, he spent several minutes looking at the structure and asking questions about the seating and performances.
Actors performed a scene from Hamlet for Mr Obama
Mr Obama described the performance as 'wonderful'
The Globe theatre is on the south bank of the Thames in the London Borough of Southwark
The audience stands to watch the plays as they did in Shakespeare's time
Celebrations are taking place across the UK over the course of the weekend to mark the anniversary.
David Tennant will host a BBC celebration on Saturday night live from the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
The event will be attended by Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall.
Former Doctor Who, David Tennant, will host BBC Two's Shakespeare Live programme
Performers at Shakespeare Live - which begins on BBC Two at 20:30 BST - will include Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Dame Helen Mirren and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Other names on the bill include Rory Kinnear, Meera Syal, Joseph Fiennes, David Suchet, Simon Russell Beale, Roger Allam, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Harriet Walter, John Lithgow, Anne-Marie Duff and the cast of Horrible Histories.
Discover more about Shakespeare
- Shakespeare Day: Live updates
- Michael Rosen on the magic of Shakespeare
- ShakespeareMe - quote generator with a twist
- Quiz: Bard or Bible?
- Stalking Shakespeare's ghost
- Finding humour in on-stage deaths
- How did people really speak in Shakespearian England?
Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gregory Porter will perform for Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall on Saturday evening
As well as theatrical performances, the show will feature hip-hop, blues, jazz, opera and classical music that has been inspired by Shakespeare's plays.
Throughout the day on Saturday, Shakespeare's Globe will be screening short films of every one of Shakespeare's 37 plays on giant screens along the banks of the Thames, between Tower Bridge and Westminster.
The films feature actors delivering their lines in the locations where the plays are set - such as Cleopatra in Egypt, Julius Caesar in the Roman Forum and Hamlet at Elsinore.
Among the star names involved in the project, entitled The Complete Walk, are Gemma Arterton, Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, James Norton, Zawe Ashton and current Doctor Who Peter Capaldi.
Dominic Dromgoole, the Globe's artistic director, who will stand down on Sunday, revealed on Friday that the short films had just all been given a "U" classification apart from one film, Pericles, which is a PG.
"That astonished us, we thought some of the others might be closer to the margins, so we'll have to put up signs around that saying it needs parental guidance," Mr Dromgoole said.
The weekend will also see the return of the Globe's worldwide tour of Hamlet, which has spent the last two years travelling to almost every country in the world.
Shakespeare: England's greatest storyteller
Born in 1564, and the earliest record of his writing dates from 1592
Wrote around 38 full plays including Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hamlet, King Lear and Macbeth
Words including "assassination", "addiction", "generous" and "bedroom" had their first recorded uses in his plays
Introduced phrases like "elbow room", "heart of gold" and "tower of strength" to the English language
Acted as well as wrote, and owned a share in the original Globe theatre
Died on 23 April 1616, aged 52
In depth: Shakespeare's life and legacy.
On Saturday afternoon, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be in Stratford-upon-Avon, where the playwright was born.
They will visit the site of the playwright's adult home for 19 years - now being transformed into a tourist attraction called Shakespeare's New Place, and due to open to the public in July. They will also go to see his grave, situated at Holy Trinity Church.
And in the evening the royal couple will attend Shakespeare Live, which is being broadcast from Stratford-upon-Avon.
BBC Radio 3 will also be broadcasting a weekend of Shakespeare-inspired music and performance live from the Bard's hometown.
And some of Shakespeare's best known characters - including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet and King Lear - will be featuring along a stretch of the River Thames in London.
Elsewhere, leading arts organisations across the UK will make available performances, analysis and talks.
All material will be streamed on Shakespeare Day Live, a digital pop-up channel which kicks off Shakespeare Lives, a six month online festival.
Barack Obama visits Globe on Shakespeare anniversary - BBC News
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