Come and celebrate Shakespeare's birthday in Stratford-upon-Avon. The four-day festival takes place 23 - 26 April 2009.
To celebrate our house playwright's birthday this year the RSC has teamed up with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust to commission artists to develop a series of events that celebrate and reinterpret Shakespeare's genius. Two significant events have inspired the artists we are working with: the 400th anniversary of the publication of the Sonnets and the launch of the new Shakespeare portrait exhibition at the Birthplace itself.
Sonnet Sleuth
Shakespeare's sonnets come alive with Sonnet Sleuth, a literary scavenger hunt that tests your detective skills! Find the fourteen clue sites around Stratford-upon-Avon town centre and discover the clues hidden in the sonnets. Can you solve the game?
Sonnet Sleuth is great family fun that will have you and the kids teaming up to find the answers that tie Shakespeare's enduring sonnets with the modern world. Or split up and compete against each other in teams! It's a terrific activity for school groups, too.
The game has been created by the New York poet and performance artist Nicole Blackman, as part of a planned series of commissions of contemporary artists by the RSC aimed at reinterpreting the work of Shakespeare for today's audiences.
Sonnet Sleuth is free. The hunt trail stays within Stratford town centre and the game takes about 1 - 2 hours.
Sonnet Sleuth runs throughout the year starting on Shakespeare's Birthday, Thursday 23 April. To take part and find out where the hunt starts pick up instructions and maps between 10am – 4pm from The Courtyard Theatre, Southern Lane or Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Henley Street. (Please note, The Courtyard Theatre Box Office is closed on Sundays but instructions can be picked up from the café and shop). Or download your pack online.
George Chakravarthi’s Ode to a Dark Star
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon
23 April - 6 September 2009
Opening times 9am - 5pm
The search for truth and authenticity is our primal preoccupation; if not within our inherited histories, we seek to resolve by looking outwardly, and art is a visual record of how we have become who we are and an indication of where we are heading.
Through his timeless text, William Shakespeare created a thousand and more portraits but left us very little of his own image, yet his presence and influence in our global identity still creates unprecedented debates.
While we continue to search the legacy and create new narratives, we find ourselves discovering more and more...
Ode to a Dark Star is a response to the recent discovery of Shakespeare's portrait which will be exhibited at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Inspired by the portrait and the Sonnets, the internationally acclaimed artist George Chakravarthi has created a new video installation that seeks to present the nature of reflections, mysteries, legitimacy, love, loss and ambiguous identities.
Shakespeare's Birthday Procession
This year's annual procession is a true celebration of Shakespeare's birthday and the town today. Under the artistic direction of Orit Azaz, a theatre and circus director renowned for producing large scale outdoor events, this year's parade invites the people of Stratford to participate in a colourful procession taking us from Shakespeare's Birthplace to his grave at the Holy Trinity Chruch.
The RSC has been working to support the Shakespeare Birthday celebrations committee, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Stratford Cultural Consortium.
The event starts at The Shakespeare's Birthplace Trust, Henley Street at 10.45am.
Shakespeare Found
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, Stratford-upon-Avon
23 April - 6 September 2009
Opening times 9am - 5pm
This ground-breaking exhibition presents compelling evidence that this is the first and only portrait of Shakespeare painted in his lifetime. Fresh, startling, and daring, this is an opportunity to get as close as anyone has ever been to knowing what Shakespeare looked like. Find out more at www.shakespearefound.org.uk
Tickets cost £5 for adults, £4 for concessions, £3 for children 5 - 16 and tickets are free for children under five.
Sonnets on the Ferry
Saturday 25 April
50p ferry crossing each way
Southern Lane
Take a trip across the river from the theatre gardens and enjoy the sound of Shakespeare’s sonnets spoken by RSC actors reading from the RSC Individual Works edition of The Sonnets and Other Poems, published in late April. The Sonnets and Other Poems includes an introduction to Shakespeare’s sonnets and poems by award-winning scholar Jonathan Bate and an easily accessible layout, with one sonnet to each page.
Transforming our Theatres - the next stage
Sunday 26 April, 2pm
The Courtyard Theatre, Southern Lane
Tickets: Free - contact 0844 800 1114 to book
Creating the RSC's new home on the banks of the River Avon.
As part of the Birthday Celebrations, everyone's invited to join Vikki Heywood, RSC Executive Director, and Peter Wilson, Project Director, to hear the latest news from behind the hoardings about the ongoing transformation of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. If you've never been in The Courtyard Theatre, this is your chance to take a look at the prototype for the new Royal Shakespeare Theatre auditorium and find out more about the RSC's plans for our future new home.
