The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is offering visitors a variety of free activities in celebration of The Bard’s birthday on Saturday 22 April. Guests can enjoy exhibitions, community artwork, performances, arts and crafts, and more over the weekend which commemorates Shakespeare’s legacy and enduring relevance.
The RSC’s permanent exhibition, The Play’s The Thing, will be reopening for the first time in three years. Local community groups co-created the exhibition with the RSC Collection, choosing which items to display from one of the most important Shakespeare collections globally. Highlights include costumes worn by iconic actors like Judi Dench, as well as the addition of the 1623 First Folio, the publication of Shakespeare’s texts favoured by many actors and directors, to the 2023 exhibition.
The community groups that worked with the RSC on the exhibition are the Goodwill and Growth for Africa Yarn Bombers, a tight-knit team of knitters and crocheters who support marginalised communities in Africa and collaborate on local yarn bombing artworks; Welcome Here, a refuge support group; and fashion and makeup students from Stratford-upon-Avon college. On Saturday 22 April only, each group will run their own Community Inspiration Station and encourage guests to get crafty by creating jewellery, making lanterns, or designing dazzling costumes.
Coinciding with the relaunch of The Play’s The Thing is the RSC’s presentation of a new artwork, ثلاثة خيوط ذهبية / Three Gold Threads. The RSC collaborated with artist/composer Liz Gre and nine refugee women to consider Shakespeare’s First Folio from the perspectives of underrepresented communities, producing an artwork that aims to draw in more diverse audiences to engage with Shakespeare’s stories.
Pif-Paf Theatre will be performing their interactive show TOAST, raising a glass to food, song, story, and dance. TOAST features recipes from around the globe, storytelling from Ian Douglas, and more.
The new RSC sensory map invites visitors to learn more about the history and heritage of the RSC’s buildings by following the insightful trail. Visitors wanting to hit the trail can collect their maps on-site.
For more information on the full programme of celebrations, visit the RSC’s website.
Words by Cerys McKew
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