Final Event in Shakespeare-Themed Mini Festival Held

The Bard was back at Texas A&M International University with  TAMIU’s Shakespeare Mini Fest 2025.

The iconic words of world-renowned playwright William Shakespeare came to life with live performances this Monday and Tuesday by the Texas Shakespeare Festival (TSF) Roadshow at the TAMIU Center for the Fine and Performing Arts (CFPA) Theatre. The TSF presented “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits” and “Julius Caesar.” 

The closing event of the Festival was a well-attended special film screening of the classic 1996 film, Romeo + Juliet cthis Friday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Alamo Drafthouse, located at 11210 Eastpoint Drive.

The screening was free and open to the public. Prior to the screening, a special lecture with members of the Borderlands Shakespeare Collectiva was held.

The lecture, “Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet and the Legacies of Borderlands Shakespeare” with Katherine Gillen, Adrianna M. Santos, and Ruben Ramírez, explored Latinx and Mexican resonances of Luhrmann’s hit 1996 film. While the movie translated the Catholic Italian setting of Shakespeare’s play to “Verona Beach,” the lecturers also looked at artistic choices in Borderlands Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare adaptations like Edit Villarreal’s The Language of Flowers. These adaptations illuminate questions of race and citizenship within the play and the cultures that continue to reproduce it.  

Spearheaded by TAMIU assistant professor of English Dr. Kaitlyn M. Chacon, the performances were made possible by TAMIU's College of Arts and Sciences. The production also benefited from the generous support of artist accommodations and stays by La Posada Hotel. 

For more information, visit https://go.tamiu.edu/shakespeare

For additional information on the TSF Roadshow, visit texasshakespare.com/the-roadshow. 

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