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 [...]

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 [...]

Meeting brother and sister Edward and Victoria from Nottinghamshire was a brilliant part of my day.  They were visiting Stratford with their parents and the whole family had stopped for a break in the Birthplace cafe when I grabbed the chance to talk salt dough, Shakespeare and the funny bits in Midsummer Night’s Dream.

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 [...]

It was great to meet Shakespeare super fans Daniel and Emma from Nottinghamshire.  They read Shakespeare, they watch Shakespeare and they share their passion for Shakespeare with their friends – ‘we’d recommend it to anyone’ says Emma.  As if that wasn’t reason enough to talk to them for the Birthplace blog, they also got engaged [...]

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 [...]