As part of their ambitious plans for 2009, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will be opening a new exhibition and visitor centre at Shakespeare’s Birthplace giving visitors a spectacular new visual experience and insight into the life of our greatest playwright, William Shakespeare. The new centre will be partly funded by Advantage West Midlands, who have awarded £250,000 towards the project.
The new visitor centre and exhibition entitled ‘Life, Love & Legacy: A New Introduction to William Shakespeare’, is due to open in April 2009, and will see visitors journey through five zones in a truly immersive experience. The visitor centre, which is set within the grounds of the house where Shakespeare was born, is the centrepiece of the five houses that The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust opens to the public in and around Stratford.
The Trust has appointed leading UK creative design and AV specialists Sarner to undertake this exciting project and truly animate this important introduction to Shakespeare’s house. Sarner has a wealth of global experience and can claim amongst its projects everything from ‘Fright Nights’ for Tussauds Group, the ‘Our Finest Hour’ display at RAF Hendon, ‘Trafalgar’ at the Royal Navy Museum, Portsmouth and The Mount Vernon Museum in Washington.
Fascinating Shakespeare- related artefacts will be presented in a dynamic way that encapsulates the excitement and passion of the man himself, for example Shakespeare’s original 1623 ‘First Folio’ (the pride of The Trust’s collection) will be revealed to visitors by theatrical lighting in front of transition gauze, which then lights up and literally brings the book to life!
Diana Owen, Director of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said “Shakespeare still has powerful resonance around the world and if he were alive today he would tell his own story in an entertaining and theatrical way with sound, lighting, entrances and exits, all the techniques he used so brilliantly in his plays. With ‘Life, Love and Legacy’ we hope to be able to introduce more people to our work and treasures and of course to Shakespeare. This is the first step to making both Shakespeare and Stratford an unmissable experience for visitors from the UK and around the globe.”
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is an independent charity that makes Shakespeare’s heritage accessible to all and has been awarded £250,000 by Advantage West Midlands along with further match funding from The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust itself.
Philip Roberts, Partnerships Director at Advantage West Midlands said: “We are delighted to be supporting this project to enhance the experience of visitors to this world-famous property, in line with our well established policy of support to the enduring legacy of Shakespeare in the West Midlands”
Roger Allonby, Head of Tourism Development Policy for Advantage West Midlands said, “Stratford is an international visitor destination, and Shakespeare’s Birthplace one of its foremost attractions. We are delighted to support the enhancement and modernisation of this unique and historic place, which is one of those featured in our autumn tourism campaign.”
Cllr Les Topham, Chairman of the World Class Stratford Strategy Group, added: “Visitors to Stratford expect the Shakespeare experience to be truly world class and inspiring, so this latest investment in the town will help meet those expectations and is to be warmly welcomed.”
The re-fitting of the new centre begins this November and will be complete by April 2009. Shakespeare’s Birthplace will of course be open as normal throughout this period and visitors will access the house through The Shakespeare Centre, which houses an exhibition based on the critically acclaimed book and television series ‘In Search of Shakespeare’ by Michael Wood. This temporary exhibition and Shakespeare’s Birthplace will remain open whilst the new visitor centre takes shape, welcoming the many global pilgrims who come to Stratford – in search of Shakespeare!