Birmingham’s copy of Shakespeare’s collected works, the First Folio, which has been touring community spaces and other areas as part of the Everything to Everybody project, will be the centrepiece of a day of Shakespeare celebrations in the city centre.
The People’s Folio will be unveiled by actor and director Adrian Lester, patron of the Everything to Everybody project, at Bullring and Grand Central on Saturday 21 October during the day, which will run from 10AM until 4PM.
Throughout the day, there will be Shakespeare-inspired dance from Kantu Ensemble and performers will speak words from the First Folio in South Asian languages including Urdu, Punjabi and Bengali.
Roaming through Bullring and Grand Central, the Natural Theatre Company will take visitors on a walking adventure called Shakespeare Begins, while Birmingham theatre company Stan’s Cafe’s will provide running commentary on all these events.
Adrian Lester said, "the fact that the First Folio belongs to all the people of Birmingham is a wonderful testament to this vibrant, inclusive city. I’m really looking forward to returning home to unveil it in the Bullring as part of a spectacular celebration of culture for all."
Professor Ewan Fernie, project director of Everything to Everybody, added, “it’s a great culmination of the project to be taking the first collected edition of Shakespeare’s works to the Bullring and Grand Central.
“Birmingham’s copy of the First Folio is the People’s Folio, the only copy in the world of this book bought as part of a vision of comprehensive culture. We can’t wait to take it to the people when we’ll be celebrating both the Folio’s 400th birthday and Birmingham’s uniquely democratic culture.”