The book by the most authoritative Shakespeare scholar Jan Kott, which is being translated into Russian for the first time, has been translated into many European languages and had a great influence on European theater, primarily on Peter Brook, Tadeusz Kantor, Jerzy Grotowski. In Cott's words: "Shakespeare is like the world or life. Each era finds in it what it seeks and what it wants to see. The reader of the mid-20th century reads Richard III or watches it played on stage through his own experience. Cannot read and look differently." The cruel experience of the 20th century is explored in the book. Translation from Polish was carried out by Vadim Klimovsky, a well-known propagandist of world and, in particular, Polish culture. His translations included books, plays and articles by Julian Tuwim, Gombrowicz, Mrozhek, Shaniawski and others.