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Shakespeare's Birthday

Shakespeare's (William) Birthday

April 23
No one really knows the exact date of William Shakespeare's birth, although he was baptized on April 26, 1564, and died on April 23, 1616. April 23 is also St. George's Day, and this may be why it was decided to observe the birth of England's greatest poet and dramatist on the feast day of England's patron saint. Special pageants are held at Stratford-upon-Avon in Warwickshire, where Shakespeare was born and where thousands of tourists go each year to see his plays performed.
CONTACTS:
Stratford-upon-Avon Tourist Information Center
Bridgefoot
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6GW United Kingdom
44-17-8929-3127; fax: 44-17-8929-5262
www.stratford-upon-avon.co.uk
The Shakespeare Centre
Henley St.
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire CV37 6QW United Kingdom
44-17-8920-4016; fax: 44-17-8926-3138
www.shakespeare.org.uk
SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 308
BkDays-1864, vol. I, p. 542
DictDays-1988, p. 109
Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, Fourth Edition. © 2010 by Omnigraphics, Inc.
Mentioned in
References in periodicals archive
'Mr Shakespeare' - aka 68 year-old Paul Workman, joined me in the studio to talk about what it's like to be the official Bard every year at Shakespeare's Birthday Celebrations.
Face to face with Shakespeare
THE turn-out for a living statue competition - staged as part of Shakespeare's birthday celebrations, promises to be not bard at all.
NO HOLDS BARD; Stratford statues battle to see who blinks first
CELEBRATING THE BARD'S BIRTHDAY OSCAR winner Mark Rylance will be bringing together a 22-strong company of actors to Westminster Abbey in London from April 26 to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday.
SHOW BUZZ; ALL THE LATEST FROM THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT
I am looking forward to coming to see everyone again." Details available from eddieizzard.com/en CELEBRATING THE BARD'S BIRTHDAY OSCAR winner Mark Rylance will be bringing together a 22-strong company of actors to Westminster Abbey in London from April 26 to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday.
SHOW BUZZ; ALL THE LATEST FROM THE WORLD ENTERTAINMENT
I am looking forward to coming to see everyone again." Details available from eddie izzard.com/en CELEBRATING THE BARD'S BIRTHDAY OSCAR winner Mark Rylance, below, will be bringing together a 22-strong company of actors to Westminster Abbey in London, from April 26, to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday.
SHOW BUZZ; ALL THE LATEST FROM THE WORLD OF ENTERTAINMENT
It's April 23, Shakespeare's birthday. In Brixton, Nora and Dora Chance - twin chorus girls born and bred south of the river - are celebrating their 70th birthday.
Bard-inspired tale of theatrical families coming to Storyhouse
Thursday, April 26, in the Student Commons, CLC's Literary Arts Society will celebrate Shakespeare's Birthday Bash.
Literary review
A Labour government will make St George's Day - England's national day and Shakespeare's birthday - a public holiday, along with St David's Day, St Andrew's Day and St Patrick's Day.
Corbyn wants extra days off
April 23 is considered as William Shakespeare's birthday. Though there are no official records of his date of birth, there is evidence that he was baptized on April 26th, 1564.
The World Remembers Shakespeare
Lunch With an Author will be a celebration of William Shakespeare's birthday. Fools Haven, a resident company at the Wildish Community Theater, will perform selections from Shakespeare's plays.
Books
MONDAY, Shakespeare's birthday, will see the second World Book Night (WBN), a national and international celebration of books and reading.
FREE BOOKS GIVEN AWAY
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