20 years ago, Araya from Thailand visited Shakespeare’s Birthplace and made a promise.  Last week he returned to Stratford upon Avon to fulfull that promise.  On his first visit in 1993, Araya had a conversation with one of the Birthplace guides and discovered that the library of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust lacked any translations of [...]

This week William Shakespeare was 449 years old and 397 years dead – he was born on April 23rd 1564 and died on the same date in 1616 aged 52.  Today is the anniversary of his baptism at Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-Avon on April 26th 1564.  That dry list of dates does nothing to [...]

Today it is William Shakespeare’s 449th birthday and there has been something in the air here at Shakespeare’s Birthplace – something special.  The sunshine was unbroken, the sky a perfect blue and everywhere in the house and gardens people were  inspired to talk, perform and celebrate the life of the man who changed the world [...]

Today the question is – how big should the birthday card be for someone who is turning 449?  The answer is as big as possible.  It was while I was admiring the giant birthday card we currently have on display at Shakespeare’s Birthplace in honour of Shakespeare’s 449th birthday, that I bumped into Rick from [...]

Here at Shakespeare’s Birthplace we’re used to visiting VIPs but a Very Important Duck is something new for us.  OLLI the duck is the mascot of the Furman University branch of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institution, which offers a programme of non credit classes at universities across America to adults over 50.  It was a [...]

At the end of a very busy day at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, something wonderful happened.  Our final visitor turned out to be Karen Dyson who sings with The Bailey Sisters – a group who perform their repertoire of early and traditional folk songs at venues and festivals around the country.  Standing in the room where Shakespeare [...]

Young, stylish and passionate about Shakespeare, Lucy and Andy from Essex are a great reminder of why words written over 400 years ago by a glove maker’s son from Stratford continue to be celebrated by each new generation.   ‘I love Shakespeare’, says Lucy simply and name checks two of the actors who ensure Shakespeare remains [...]

The day before her sixth birthday, Hannah visited the  Birthplace with her Mum and wowed us by quoting Shakespeare.  Proving it’s never too early to appreciate Shakespeare’s wonderful characters, Hannah revealed she had worn a Juliet costume to school on World Book Day.  After our conversation, Hannah went into the garden and received an early [...]

There’s nothing we like more here at Shakespeare’s Birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon than watching our visitors break into spontaneous Shakespeare.  When two members of a group visiting from St Joseph Catholic High School in Alberta Canada offered to have a go at the iconic balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, we were thrilled to feel a [...]

Reciting some Shakespeare in the back garden of the house where Shakespeare grew up should be on everyone’s wish list and teenager Ellie, visiting Stratford from the USA, can already tick that box.  It was a real joy to film her performing the famous Friends, Romans, Countrymen speech from Julius Caesar with such panache.