The Royal Shakespeare Company has announced more details of a free fireworks display to mark Shakespeare’s 450th birthday.
The display, outside the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford on Wednesday 23 April will take its inspiration from dramatist Ben Jonson’s First Folio description of Shakespeare as our “star of poets”.
As well as traditional pyrotechnics, the birthday treat will feature an eight metre-high frame depicting Shakespeare's face which will light up in flames. The image of Shakespeare will be based on the Droeshout engraving of the playwright.
The festivities will start after the evening’s performance of Henry IV Part I, with the theatre as a backdrop.
Members of the public are advised to arrive from 10:30PM, with the display beginning at about 10:50PM.
There will be a designated viewing area on the Bancroft Gardens in front the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.
RSC artistic director Gregory Doran said, “This will be a wonderful way of marking the 450th birthday of our house playwright, and the beginning of a great arc of work celebrating his genius from this 450th birthday year to the 400th anniversary of his death in 2016.”
Later that week, on Saturday 26 April and as part of Stratford’s weekend-long, annual Shakespeare birthday celebrations, the RSC will offer a range of free family theatre activities. There are more details at the RSC’s web site.