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  Newsmakers   Such stuff as dreams are made on: Fans mark Shakespeare’s 400th

Such stuff as dreams are made on: Fans mark Shakespeare’s 400th

Published : Apr 24, 2016, 2:33 am IST
Updated : Apr 24, 2016, 2:33 am IST

William Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday leads the global celebrations to mark 400 years since the playwright’s death, with enough star-studded plays, concerts and parades to

Wearing masks of the “Bard of Avon”, people
 Wearing masks of the “Bard of Avon”, people

William Shakespeare’s hometown of Stratford-upon-Avon on Saturday leads the global celebrations to mark 400 years since the playwright’s death, with enough star-studded plays, concerts and parades to bring the town to a standstill.

Top British actors, including Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Benedict Cumberbatch and Ian McKellen, will perform some of the bard’s most famous scenes at the central English town’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

Prince Charles, the heir to the throne, will attend the Shakespeare Live! show, which will also be broadcast on television in Britain and worldwide by the BBC, and beamed to cinemas around Europe.

London will also join in the festivities, with Shakespeare’s Globe theatre — famed for its productions full of detail from the Bard’s era — hosting the final performance of a “Hamlet” world tour which has taken place in 195 countries.

Some 37 short films — one for each of Shakespeare’s plays — featuring stars like Dominic West and Gemma Arterton will also be shown on giant screens snaking along the River Thames.

Dominic Dromgoole, outgoing artistic director of the Globe, put Shakespeare’s timeless appeal down to “fantastic stories that sit at the heart of human experience in all forms”.

“He’s a great wit, a great entertainer and his plays are generous — they make you feel more and understand more,” he told AFP.

Stratford, where Shakespeare was born and died, kicks off the day’s merriment with a parade of performers wearing pantaloons, ruffs and codpieces through its historic streets, ending at his burial site.

Visitors, performers and literature buffs from around the world will descend on the sleepy market town for a day of theatre, dancing, fireworks, music.

Although celebrations are held every year at this time to commemorate Shakespeare’s life, organisers are this year promising something extra-special.

“It will be a spectacle like nothing we have seen before in the history of these precious, traditional celebrations,” said town clerk Sarah Summers.

“It will be full of music, colour and action”.

Focal points for the celebrations include Shakespeare’s family home, where it is assumed he was born in 1564, and the Holy Trinity Church, where he was buried.

The schoolroom where Shakespeare is believed to have learned his craft, owned by King Edward VI School, will be permanently opened to visitors on Saturday following a £1.8 million renovation.