Apparently, now that the Ides of March has passed, it’s safe for members of the Royal Shakespeare Company to travel back to the University of Michigan again — this time, for an intensive, 10-day creative collaboration.

During three previous, extensive residencies (presented by the University Musical Society), the world-renowned troupe presented memorable productions of 3 history plays, a world premiere stage adaptation of Salman Rushdie's “Midnight’s Children”; and Patrick Stewart starring in “Antony and Cleopatra” and “The Tempest.”

This time, U-M President Mary Sue Coleman's office — with help and support from U-M’s Ross School of Business and UMS — is bringing to Ann Arbor 16 British and American actors, along with a 9-member creative team (3 playwrights, a director, the RSC’s dramaturg, voice coach and movement coach), to share and discuss three plays that the RSC hopes to produce during its 2011 season.

“2011 is the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible,” said retired English and religion professor Ralph Williams, who’s been involved in planning the RSC collaboration. “That was an event of enormous consequence for the history of our language and religious, economic, social, and political matters in England. A huge influence, and rich in implication. So as part of that, they’re doing what they’re calling The Faith Project next year; that is, a series of presentations on stage and through acting and through education that will explore the intersections of religious texts, religious institutions and public culture. This is a very complex issue both in England and here.”

Though the majority of events and talks involving the visiting RSC artists are solely for U-M students, a handful of free events will be open, in a limited capacity, to the public.

These include a panel discussion about the Bible as literature, featuring Williams, director Greg Doran, and playwright David Edgar on Saturday, March 27 from 4-6 p.m. in 100 Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library; a Greg Doran and Anthony Sher lecture about presenting Shakespeare on stage and on film on Monday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. at the Ross School of Business’ Blau Auditorium at 701 Tappan; and three “Insights,” or partial readings of plays in development, which will include some student performers.

“The scripts are in a state fragile enough that they don’t want the full pressure of a full public reading of them,” said Williams. “They want to develop them. That’s the point of being here. But they want to share and hear responses from those who might come.”

The first Insight — happening Wednesday, March 24 from 6-8 p.m. in Ross’ Blau Auditorium — involves a Helen Edmundson play about Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, a highly educated, 17th century, South American nun who stirred up controversy in her time by writing plays, essays, and poetry (some dedicated to another nun), as well as her thoughts about politics, religion, and education.

“Her life and her work are just full of the most important implications for an understanding of religion, gender roles, education,” said Williams. The second Insight — happening Friday, March 26 at 2 p.m. in East Quad’s Keene — focuses on a "lost" play, “Cardenio,” that Shakespeare is believed to have co-written with John Fletcher; there is proof that the play was once performed, but no known text for the play exists. The story involves a character from Cervantes’ “Don Quixote,” and Greg Doran and a Spanish playwright are developing a script that aims to restore the play.

“Greg hasn’t decided yet whether any given performance (will be) partly Spanish, partly English, or one evening Spanish, another evening English,” said Williams, who noted that bilingual actors will present this Insight. “But the whole question of language in culture … is deeply interesting and engaging.”

In an interesting sidelight, "Cardenio" has been in the news lately: A Shakespeare scholar has concluded that an 18th century play called "Double Falsehood" was a rewrite of "Cardenio," and it has been recently published.

The third Insight — scheduled for Tuesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. — focuses on “Written on the Heart,” David Edgar’s play about Lancelot Andrewes’ role in the formation and publication of the King James Bible.

“Lancelot Andrewes was a religious figure, highly controversial, enormously gifted, and stylistically, he was part of the translating of the King James Bible,” said Williams. “And so the play is going to enter into a whole set of issues by way of focus on a single person. And it promises to be an extraordinary play.”

This 10-day RSC program has been relatively quick in its development — talks began only last September — but its intellectual aspirations are broad.

“We obviously gain enormously through contact with them,” said Williams. “So they’re going to fan out to the theater department, to varying courses there, to the English department, to history, and so on and so on. They’ll visit with classes, seminars, etc. in ways that will directly engage faculty and students in a sustained conversation with them.”

According to Williams, this 10-day collaboration is the realization of a second phase of a plan.

“From the beginning of our relationship with the RSC, the relationship was planned to have 2 main phases,” said Williams. “One of them was the performing residencies. But from (former President) Lee Bollinger’s time, there was planned, as well, a creative aspect to our relationship. And Mary Sue Coleman has reaffirmed that.”

And while Williams hopes the community will take advantage of the RSC’s free, public events, he also warns that space for them is limited, saying, “We both want to be hospitable and would like to avoid the ushers being torn about by angry people at the door.”

RSC PUBLIC EVENTS Wednesday, March 24, 6-8 p.m. INSIGHT for the Sor Juana play, written by Helen Edmundson. Location: Blau Auditorium (Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan St.) Friday, March 26, 2 p.m. INSIGHT for the Cardenio play, a new version of the play by Shakespeare and Fletcher. Location: Keene Theatre (East Quad, 701 East University Avenue) Saturday, March 27, 4-6 p.m. Discussion of the Bible as literature with director Greg Doran, playwright David Edgar and professor Ralph Williams. Location: The Library Gallery, 100 Hatcher Graduate Library.

Monday, March 29 at 7:30 p.m. Lecture: "Shakespeare: From Stage to Film," by Greg Doran and Sir Antony Sher Blau Auditorium (Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan St.) Tuesday, March 30 at 6:30 p.m. INSIGHT for “Written on the Heart," by David Edgar. Blau Auditorium (Ross School of Business, 701 Tappan St.)

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.