The Royal Shakespeare Company is offering visitors to Stratford a range of free activities to help celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday on Saturday 22 April.
The RSC's permanent exhibition The Play’s the Thing will open for the first time in three years. It has been co-curated with community groups who took part in workshops to select the items for display.
The exhibition includes the costume worn by Lucien Msamati as Iago in Othello (2015), the armour dress worn by Helen Mirren as Queen Margaret in Henry VI (1977), the costume worn by John Gielgud as Prospero in The Tempest (1957) and the headdress worn by Mark Rylance as Ariel in The Tempest (1981).
Pif-Paf Theatre will perform TOAST, an “energetic, ambitious, and communal celebration of food, song, story, dance and fire” with storytelling by Ian Douglas in the Swan Theatre gardens from 12 until 1:30 and 2:30 until 4:30PM.
There will also be the chance to see the première of Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director emeritus Gregory Doran’s new staging of William Shakespeare’s dark fairytale Cymbeline in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. Cymbeline will mark Doran’s 50th production for the RSC.
The annual Shakespeare birthday lunch, hosted by Alexander Armstrong, will include the presentation of the Pragnell Shakespeare birthday award which “celebrates individuals who have significantly furthered society’s understanding, appreciation and enjoyment of Shakespeare’s work”. Doran is the 2023 winner.