A performance in Maori of William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida at London's Globe Theatre has kicked off an international festival highlighting the work of the Bard.
The 448th birthday of the playwright on Monday was marked by Ngakau Toa theatre company's performance which director Rawiri Paratene said was "frightening" but added the play lent itself to being translated into te reo.
"The classical Maori language is very poetic, very bawdy, very prosaic - it's got all the different forms of the language that Shakespeare uses."
The performance was part of the Globe To Globe festival which will see plays in 37 different languages performed in London until June 9.
Other performances will feature Hamlet in Lithuanian and a Sudanese Cymbeline.
