The premiere of a special 3D lightshow will be beamed onto Shakespeare's Birthplace on 21 November in Stratford-upon-Avon to kick start four weeks of free events in the town.
The Birthplace 3D Lightshow Spectacular will launch at 5.45pm when Paralympic rower James Roe MBE and Stratford Town Mayor Diane Walden will turn the show on.
The six minute lightshow will start with a quill writing a quote from the Seven Ages of Man speech from As You Like It across the Birthplace and will be followed by extracts from Macbeth and King Lear by Shakespeare Aloud! – the charity's resident acting troupe. As part of the event members of the public can also see Romeo climb the walls of Shakespeare's Birthplace to kiss his Juliet. The show finishes with the word smile written across the Birthplace and a camera flash will snap audiences to appear as if a photo is being taken.
Before the premiere a street parade will line the streets of Stratford which will involve a fairy on stilts, the chance to meet the Guide Dogs for the Blind Shakespeare's Puppies, and hear local school children sing. There will also live music and entertainment from Touch FM who will be hosting the event and over 40 stalls will be on Henley Street offering a whole host of Christmas fare.
Visitors will also be able to take a tour of Shakespeare's Birthplace by candlelight. The event is a partnership between the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and local independent businesses and has funding from Warwickshire County Council's Operation Footfall - which aims to get more people visiting the county's town centres.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is also offering festive fare in its houses over the Christmas period. A free Christmas Fair will take place at Hall's Croft on 30 November and 1 December. Visitors can buy special gifts created by local designers as well as enjoy mulled wine and Christmas fare at Hall's Croft cafe. Members of the public are also being invited to learn how to make Christmas decorations with special workshops on 7 and 8 December from 10am to 2pm, tickets cost £15.
Experience a real Tudor Christmas from 1 December to 5 January at Nash's House and New Place, the site of Shakespeare's last home. Visitors can discover how Elizabethans prepared for the festive season and children can also enjoy story-telling on Wednesdays and Fridays from 3pm.
Sing along to classic Christmas carols at Anne Hathaway's Cottage & Gardens and hear readings from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickensagainst the back drop of Shakespeare's sweetheart's childhood home. The cottage will also be decked out in Christmas decorations from 1 December to 5 January.
Shakespeare's Birthplace finishes off the yuletide celebrations with On the Twelfth Day of Christmas from 1 December to 5 January when visitors can search the house for 12 top ten Tudor festive facts.
Shakespeare Aloud! will be performing festive inspired snippets from Shakespeare's plays on Christmas Eve and Boxing day and will be hosting their Twelfth Night marathon on 5 January.
Head of Operations, Philippa Rawlinson, said “We are really thrilled to be working in partnership with so many businesses in the town. The Birthplace 3D Lightshow Spectacular will mix live theatre with 3D lights - an absolute first in the town and possibly in the world. We can't wait to see people's reactions and hope visitors will see Shakespeare's Birthplace in a whole new light."
Symon Powell, from the Henley Street Traders, said, “It's going to be a truly unique and magical Christmas on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon this year, with one of the biggest festive events in living memory – a fabulous and free 3D Lightshow."
For more information visit the What's On page at www.shakespeare.org.uk
