Like most New Yorkers, I ride the subway to and from work every day. I find that having reading material to accompany me on my daily commute is a must. I prefer books to magazines – mainly for the constantly evolving story lines and the pure escapism that books often provide. I have been known to also read classic works of poems and plays during some of these interborough journeys. As a matter of fact, the great works of William Shakespeare have frequently been amongst some of my favorites as I’ve traveled along the winding NYC underground.
This graphic was designed by Kit Grover for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), entitled “Greater Shakespeare.”
To my great delight, I came across a campaign designed by Kit Grover for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), entitled “Greater Shakespeare.” The campaign design utilizes the London Underground system map as an illustration of Shakespeare’s characters, archetypes and their intertwining relationships. Some of the major subway lines are named: lovers, mothers, fathers and daughters, villains, heroes – and the list goes on. Notable intersections include Henry V – who, as a character, meets on the ‘warrior’ and ‘hero’ lines. Lady Macbeth, who finds herself along the ’strong and difficult women’ line as well as ‘warrior’ line. Humor can be found in icons like “Restaurant” above Titus (a nod to the story’s cannibalism) and “Unisex Toilets” for the lovers and gender-bending characters that populate many of Shakespeare’s comedies.
Both the London Underground and William Shakespeare are, indeed, great points of pride for the British. Both can be categorized as ‘revolutionary’ in their own right. As the oldest subway system in the world (opened in 1863), the London Underground has served as a benchmark for subways around the world since its inception. Similarly, the works of William Shakespeare have shaped and influenced just about every outlet for modern storytelling: literature, dance, cinema, and of course, stage.
This entertaining and imaginative enterprise finds a fresh and lively way to literally map Shakespeare onto the popular consciousness.
The RSC online shop has a variety of products depicting this graphic for sale on their website: https://www.rsc.org.uk/buyonline/shoponline/
This graphic was designed by Kit Grover for the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), entitled “Greater Shakespeare.”
“Inspired by the London Underground map and reproduced with the kind permission of Transport For London”
Tags: design, graphic, Greater Shakespeare, information graphics, Kit Grover, literature, London, New York, NYC, Royal Shakespeare Company, RSC, subway, tube, Underground, William Shakespeare
[...] A colleague and friend of mine works at INC Design which has a fairly new blog. I checked it out today and came across this interesting blog post about the Royal Shakespeare Company’s campaign which uses the London Underground system map as an illustration of Shakespeare’s characters, archetypes and their intertwining relationships. This reminding me of my journey to London which was around this time last year. I think the use of a map or other means than a map constitutes thinking outside the box. Please check out the full post on Royal Shakespeare Company’s campaign. [...]
Very interesting! Thanks for sharing.
A thanks to Janine Toro for featuring our London Tube blog entry on her own site, Designthusiast, http://janinetoro.com/blog/. Janine is working on featuring and commenting on advertisements, graphics, tech gadgets, accessories and interesting places she comes across. Thanks Janine!
The RSC is probably the most famous classical theater company in the world.