If you can’t afford a First Folio of your own, the next best thing is to come to Shakespeare’s Birthplace, buy a copy of Shakespeare’s Complete Works from the onsite bookshop and then visit the First Folio currently on show in the Treasures Exhibition here at the Shakespeare Centre.  This is exactly what Caroline from [...]

Five month old Tulip visited Shakespeare’s Birthplace with her parents Aseem and Monika, who are originally from India but now live near Manchester.  Like many babies who come to the Birthplace, Tulip seemed rapt with fascination by the costumed guides she met inside the house.  She wasn’t quite so happy while we filmed the blog [...]

Lauren came to the Birthplace to do some research for a school project on Shakespeare and it was great to talk to her and her family – sister Francesca, Mum Tracey and Grandad Vic.  Schools bring Shakespeare to life in all kinds of wonderful ways these days and Lauren tells a brilliant story about her [...]

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 [...]