Conceal me what I am, and be my aid
For such disguise as haply shall become
The form of my intent. I'll serve this duke:
Thou shall present me as an eunuch to him
(Twelfth Night Act 1, scene ii)
The Royal Shakespeare’s Company’s Swan Bar currently features a number of displays relating to the play Twelfth Night. It is also one of the venues for the new ‘Shakespeare’s Stories’ exhibition by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the RSC. ‘Shakespeare’s Stories’, which is part of the RSC’s World Shakespeare Festival for London 2012, explores the themes of home, identity and journey across three venues in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Storyteller and exhibition curator Jan Blake tells us a little more about the themes of concealment and identity that are explored here.
As well as Twelfth Night in the Swan Bar, the ‘Shakespeare’s Stories’ exhibition looks at The Tempest in the Stratford Room of the Shakespeare Centre (through the Birthplace cafe on Henley Street) and The Comedy of Errors in Hall’s Croft. Please note that entrance charges apply at Hall’s Croft, however the other two venues can be visited free of charge.