The English cemetery in Malaga launches new Shakespearean-style theatrical guided tours

Tony Bryant

Malaga

Monday, 10 April 2023, 14:48 | Updated 15:22h.

The English cemetery in Malaga will launch its latest cultural initiative later this month, an English-language guided tour of different parts of the graveyard.

Designed to inform visitors of the history of the cemetery, which opened in 1831, the dramatised tours will be given by “guides from the theatrical world in the language of Shakespeare”. The initiative has been organised by Tierra Malacitana and Enjoy Malaga Tours and is part of the Historia Viva Malaga project.

The idea for the project began in 2021, when the cemetery was going through a difficult time owing to the lack of visitors as a result of Covid restrictions. The Spanish language version was launched last year, and now English-speaking residents and visitors can enjoy the tours, which begin on Saturday 22 April, when two tours will be offered (7pm and 9pm).

The director of Enjoy Malaga Tours, Rubén Ceres, said, “The idea is to do these tours on a monthly basis so that from June, we can increase the number of performances. Doing them in English may be an opportunity for foreigners to come to this relatively unknown space.”

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The 90-minute tours will uncover the secret stories of the cemetery (the first Protestant cemetery in Spain), along with information about some of the people buried there. These will include William Mark, the British consul of Malaga, who was instrumental in gaining permission for its opening; and Robert Boyd, the Irishman who has the distinction of being the first person buried within the cemetery walls.

Ceres explained that the theatrical visits will combine history, drama and comedy in equal measures, “turning the experience into a very entertaining tragicomedy”.

“We have two main reasons for introducing an English version of our tour. The first is due to the continuous demand we have received from various institutions, organisations and schools. The second is the church of St George itself, which represents an important community of foreign visitors, not only British nationals, as the name of the cemetery implies, but people of many different nationalities, all of whom we want to include on this tour. Visitors will be helping with the ongoing maintenance of this fascinating sacred space,” he added.

Tickets, which cost 18 euros, can be reserved on www.tierramalacitana.es.