2009 Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebrations to be Bigger and Better than Ever Before

Shakespeare’s Birthday, traditionally celebrated in Stratford-upon-Avon over the weekend closest to the poet’s birthday on 23 April, is to become an altogether greater and more high profile event this year, thanks to sponsorship from regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands.

The 2009 celebrations, which will run for an extended four day period, from 23 to 26 April, will be just a taster of things to come.  The £100,000 funding, recently received from Advantage West Midlands and secured by Stratford’s Cultural Consortium, is to be invested into building Shakespeare’s Birthday, from the important, but essentially local event, which the town has proudly marked for nearly two centuries, to a significant annual spectacle, engaging the wider community within the region.

This year’s Birthday Celebrations mark the start of a three-year journey towards the launch of the World Shakespeare Festival in 2012, produced by the RSC as part of the official programme of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Mark Pearce, Advantage West Midlands Corporate Director for Economic Regeneration said,

“We are committed to enhancing and developing the tourism offer of the Heart of England, West Midlands region and are delighted to invest in the Shakespeare Birthday celebrations, as part of our commitment to developing the regional visitor offer. The enhanced celebrations will not only give the event a wider regional appeal, generate additional visitors and economic impact, but will also create greater international and national profile for the region, enabling the region to maximize our unique position as the birthplace of Shakespeare. The development of the celebrations will also prepare the region for the international showcase and Shakespeare Festival that will be a major focus for the Cultural Olympiad programme in 2012.”

Diana Owen, Director of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the driving force behind the reinvigorated Birthday Celebrations, commented, “Stratford is very proud of its Shakespearian culture and the annual Birthday celebrations have always been an uplifting focal point for our community. The Trust is delighted to have been given the opportunity to not only significantly grow and develop the tradition, but also share it with a much wider regional and global audience.”    

The key celebrations will begin with the opening on 23 April of the much-anticipated Shakespeare Found portrait exhibition at the Shakespeare Centre, in the grounds of Shakespeare’s Birthplace.  The exhibition will feature, as its centrepiece, the newly identified ‘Cobbe portrait’ of William Shakespeare, which has recently been the subject of worldwide media interest. 

Commissioned by The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Royal Shakespeare Company for the Birthday Celebrations and supported by Advantage West Midlands, a dramatic video installation response to the portrait - Ode to a Dark Star - by internationally acclaimed artist George Chakravarthi will also be a major feature of this exhibition, which runs until 6 September. 

Deborah Shaw, Chair of Stratford’s Cultural Consortium and Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, who are closely involved in the Birthday Celebrations said: “This year's Birthday Celebrations have brought professional artists and the local community together in new and inspirational ways, which have begun to unlock the exuberant, playful spirit of Stratford alongside the deep and resonant tradition. It's a powerful combination, which will confirm Stratford's unique place at the centre of national Shakespeare celebrations. The RSC is delighted to play its part.”

A programme of activities, fusing familiar, traditional celebrations with exciting, innovative events to engage audiences of all ages and interests, will then unfold across Stratford from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 April.   “The rejuvenated event is a celebration of Shakespeare’s work, as well as his historic importance to the town,” commented Orit Azaz*, Creative Director for the event.

The Saturday (25 April) procession through Stratford will still be the highlight of the occasion, featuring guests from all around the world, carrying flowers and rosemary for remembrance and making the pilgrimage from Shakespeare’s Birthplace to his grave at Holy Trinity Church.

However, this year onlookers will be treated to a more carnival-style atmosphere, as the traditional parade becomes more colourful, with the introduction of professional entertainers.  There will be a more inclusive element to the procession, as a wide range of local organisations, including theatre groups and dancers, both traditional and contemporary, will be invited to join the spectacle. Performers will have the opportunity to work with Struan Leslie, the newly appointed Head of Movement at the RSC, who will help to choreograph all these new performing elements.

Banners will inform onlookers who is taking part, as the updated procession takes a slightly different route starting at the Birthplace, pausing in Bridge Street, where there will be a formal ceremony and where the carnival begins, before moving on, via Waterside and Sheep Street.  It will then proceed along Chapel Street and Church Street, where staff and pupils of King Edward’s VI School will take up their traditional role of leading it to its destination at Holy Trinity Church. 

There will be family fun throughout the Saturday with many of Stratford’s streets playing host to musicians in costume, circus performers and wandering Shakespearean actors.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust‘s five Shakespearian Houses will be hosting their own family events over the celebratory period.  A flower sculpture of Shakespeare’s coat of arms will be displayed outside Nash’s House in Old Town and children will be invited to dress as Shakespearian characters for a photo opportunity under the house’s famous mulberry tree.  Meanwhile, any child visiting Mary Arden’s Farm will be given a slice of birthday cake and a balloon.  For full details of activities at Shakespeare’s Historic Houses visit www.shakespeare.org.uk

The Bancroft Gardens, which have recently undergone extensive renovations as part of the World Class Stratford project, will be formally re-opened by Sir Donald Sinden, Cllr. Les Topham, leader of Stratford District Council and other civic leaders and community representatives on the morning of Friday 24 April.  They will then become a focal point, staging many activities and events throughout the Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations on Saturday, from English folk dancing by local children to Shakespearian Morris men.

The Royal Shakespeare Company is also introducing ‘Sonnet Sleuth’ to Stratford, a literary scavenger hunt, created by New York performance artist Nicole Blackman and marking the 400th anniversary of the publication of Shakespeare’s sonnets.  The game requires families and school groups to team up to find answers that tie Shakespeare’s enduring sonnets to the modern world.   ‘Sonnet Sleuth’ will launch on Shakespeare’s birthday and then run through the year.  Full details can be found at www.rsc.org.uk/events

On Sunday 26 April the annual Shakespeare Service at Holy Trinity Church will take place at 11.00 am marking the final day of celebrations. At The Courtyard Theatre on Sunday, there will also be an opportunity to hear the latest news about the next stage of the RSC’s transformation of its Stratford home. Members of the project team will give an insight into the work onsite, with a chance to ask questions and take a look around The Courtyard Theatre. The event is free and starts at 2pm

Local Arts Events

Underpinning and therefore extending the Shakespeare Birthday Celebrations beyond the key four days is a series of related local arts events, including The Stratford Poetry Festival, The Stratford Literary Festival and the Spring Sounds International Music Festival (Orchestra of the Swan).  The official Birthday Performance by the RSC, taking place on Saturday 25 April at 7.30 pm, is Michael Boyd’s production of As You Like It at The Courtyard Theatre.  

The Shakespeare Birthday Challenge

Integral to the Birthday Celebrations will be The Shakespeare Birthday Challenge, a call to locals and visitors, whether individuals or businesses to organise their own event to mark ‘The Bard’s’ birthday.  The event can be as traditional or creative, small or large-scale as they wish.   Activities could be anything from a private dinner party or picnic with friends to a birthday cake making competition to a more public Shakespearian characters football match on the recreation ground.  For more information on The Shakespeare Birthday Challenge and for general information on the 2009 Shakespeare’s Birthday Celebrations, visit www.shakespearesbirthday.org.uk

* Orit Azaz was previously responsible for Portrait of a Nation  - Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture and Heritage.