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 [...]

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 [...]

Easter bunnies were everywhere at Shakespeare’s  Birthplace over the Easter weekend – even among the wonderful new flower display to be found just inside the entrance to the Visitor Centre.  Celebrate Spring with this unique version of ‘It was a Lover and his Lass’ from As You Like It.  Martin Smith, Rich Bunn and John-Robert [...]

The actors, guides, gardeners and front of house staff who work at Shakespeare’s Birthplace here in Stratford-Upon-Avon would like to wish our visitors a very happy Easter. Thank you all for a great weekend of sunshine, Shakespeare and the odd Easter bunny.  Actor Martin Smith was delighted to sing ‘When Daffodils Begin To Peer’ from [...]

We are delighted to celebrate 25 years of Comic Relief with a special version of a scene from Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.  Tonight of all nights the starring roles have to go to the red noses themselves – with a bit of help from their fellow actors Rich Bunn, Martin Smith and Jen Stone [...]

On the opening night of the RSC’s new production of Hamlet, members of the Gingerbread Shakespeare Company (GSC) decided to pay tribute to their fellow actors with a very special interpretation of one of the most challenging scenes from the play.  As usual, the gingerbread players were understudied by their colleagues from in-house Birthplace acting [...]