Earlier this week was William Shakespeare’s birthday.  As part of ‘The Birthday Weekend’ celebrations in Stratford-upon-Avon I visited the Parish Church, where flowers are laid on Shakespeare’s grave by members of the local community.

The graves of the complete Shakespeare family are clearly marked for the occasion and the masses of flowers carefully arranged for maximum impact. What the video cannot convey is the glorious scent of Spring flowers that hung in the air.

I wonder what William Shakespeare would think of this – 408 years after his death his birthday is still being celebrated in the town of his birth. I like to think that the celebration is not just for the man, but for his work, the actors he has inspired and the countless other playwrights, poets, actors and performers who light up our lives.

If you know me, you know I love Shakespeare’s plays and I’ve been an ardent theatre-goer since I was a teenager – the result of a faculty of English teachers who organised theatre trips often enough that my Mum got sick of me pestering her for money to go and see another play.  I wasn’t even studying English for A-level!

I could easily fill your inbox with quotes from Shakespeare’s plays, but instead, I decided to share this RSC video…

Enjoy!

…and if you have never seen one of Shakespeare’s plays performed, I encourage you to do so.  If nothing else, The Royal Shakespeare Company has some wonderful clips on YouTube.