Okay, guilty as charged. I’m an unrepentant Shakespeare groupie, dating from age 17 when I saw my first professional production in New York City. In the years that followed, I’ve managed to see and/or read 36 of the 38 plays attributed to him. So it is no wonder that I’m having a dinner party on April 23rd to celebrate his birthday – which also happens to be the date on which he died, exactly 400 years ago. Although there is no actual record of his birth, there is a record, in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, of his baptism, which was April 26th, 1564. Back then, baptisms usually took place three days after a baby’s birth, which is why it is assumed that William Shakespeare was born on April 23rd. Because 2016 marks the 400th anniversary of his death, there will be many celebrations around the country, especially in Stratford-on-Avon. (As it so happens, April 23rd is also St. George’s Day. How clever of Britain’s most famous playwright, with a dramatist’s sense of timing, to organise both his birth and death on the anniversary of the patron saint of England).
There is a fair amount of controversy regarding the authorship of the plays, and a lively group of naysayers, which includes actors Mark Rylance and Derek Jacobi. I’m definitely in the camp that gives Shakespeare full credit for 38 plays and 154 sonnets. In my mind, their enduring popularity is attributable to their portrayal of timeless, universal truths: jealousy, love, loyalty, political intrigue, ambition, revenge, betrayal, redemption, lust, regret – all so very human.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford. His father, John, was a town official and a glove maker. His mother’s family, the Ardens, were landowners. Shakespeare was educated at the local grammar school where the curriculum would have included the study of classical authors, Latin composition and possibly some Greek. He did not go to university.
At age 18, he married Anne Hathaway, eight years his senior and pregnant with their first child, Susannah, who was born in 1583. Their twins, Hamnet and Judith, were born in 1585. Sadly, Hamnet died at age 11. Shakespeare’s whereabouts from 1585 until he appeared in London in 1592 are a mystery. But from then on he acted, wrote plays and became a shareholder in a company of players, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, which on the accession of James I to the throne after the death of Elizabeth I, became the King’s Men. He spent his last years in Stratford and it always amused me that in his will he left his ‘second best bed’ to his wife – until I discovered that the best bed was for guests, and the second-best was the marriage bed.
Before I became an expat, I lived in New York City and was lucky enough to have seen Shakespeare in Central Park. One of my theatre programmes from that time shows Meat Loaf in the cast! Another ‘old’ theatre programme from the Royal Shakespeare Company here in the late 1970s lists Ruby Wax in a minor role. Well, you’ve got to start somewhere!
Nothing beats seeing Shakespeare on the stage. For those of you who live in or near London, a visit to the Globe Theatre is a must. (www.shakespearesglobe.com). In this replica of the theatre where Shakespeare’s plays were performed from 1599, until destroyed by fire in 1613, you can sit on a cushion on bleacher- like seats or you can brave it as a ‘groundling’ and stand in the central area where you might find yourself interacting with the players. But be prepared with a raincoat as here you are open to the elements. I am proud to say that the prime mover in getting the Globe built was an American, the actor Sam Wanamaker (father of Zoe), who sadly died before its completion. Nearby is the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, named in his honour.
But Stratford-on-Avon is the place where you feel Shakespeare’s presence on every street corner. I first went there as a student, during my ‘Junior Year Abroad’ at Nottingham University. Of course, when I moved to England in the late 70s, I made a beeline for Stratford where I saw several wonderful productions staged by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Over the years, my friends and I have made regular visits to Stratford. We’d drive up on a Saturday, having booked tickets for both the matinee and evening performances. On one insane weekend, when the RSC was performing ‘Henry VI’, Parts I, II and III in the same day, we sat through them all – mid-morning, then matinee, then evening. You really have to be a Shakespeare groupie to do that!
Besides the theatres operated by the RSC (the main 1040-seat theatre in Waterside, plus the 450-seat Swan), you can also visit various sites in and around Stratford that are associated with the Bard. Not to be missed are the house in Henley Street where he was born, his wife Anne Hathaway’s cottage and garden, Hall’s Croft (where his daughter Susannah and husband lived) and New Place (which Shakespeare owned during the last years of his life). Also well worth a visit is Mary Arden’s farmhouse, a short drive out of town.
Near the main theatre, in Bancroft Gardens, is a large statue of the Bard. He is perched on a pedestal surrounded by smaller statues of Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, Prince Hal and Falstaff. These characters have been chosen to represent Shakespeare’s range and versatility – philosophy, tragedy, history and comedy. Another famous statue of Shakespeare is to be found, quite naturally, in Poet’s Corner of Westminster Abbey. In Holy Trinity Church, where he is buried, the bust of him on the funerary monument is said to be a genuine likeness.
As we get closer and closer to April 23rd, there will be many and varied celebrations. The London ones will be well advertised – but if you want to go back to ‘his roots’, then Stratford is THE place. Websites to look at are:
www.shakespearecelebrations.com;
www.visitstratforduponavon.co.uk.
For a schedule of plays, see: www.rsc.org.uk. And for a bit of fun, try to see the 1998 film, ’Shakespeare in Love’ which really captures the period – including the tradition that male actors had to play women, the latter being forbidden to appear on the stage.
In ‘Kiss Me Kate’, the musical version of The Taming of the Shrew, Cole Porter’s clever lyrics urge: “Brush up your Shakespeare, start quoting him now.” The fact is that without actually realising it, we quote him all the time. Here’s just a small sample: “Eaten out of house and home” (Henry IV, Act 2), “A wild goose chase” (Romeo and Juliet), “The world is my oyster” and “What the dickens” (Merry Wives of Windsor), a “forgone conclusion” (Othello),“Love is blind”(The Merchant of Venice). A favourite of mine comes from Hamlet and attests to how profound Shakespeare’s messages can be: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”
Would the Bard be pleased with all the fuss being made on his account, on this 400th anniversary of his death? Or would he simply dismiss it as ‘much ado about nothing’?
One thing’s for certain: All’s well that ends well.
Mari Zipes Wallace hails from Pleasantville, New York. She has worked in publishing in New York City as well as London. She is a founder member of Britain’s Society of Picture Researchers and Editors, and a member of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Since living in England, she has had pieces published in a range of UK magazines, including Sussex Life, Best of British, The Oldie, Saga, The Photographer and enjoyed a 15-month stint writing a column for Countryfile magazine. Contact details: mari.wallace@sky.com; www.marizipeswallace.co.uk
Image: By a painter called John Taylor who was an important member of the Painter-Stainers’ Company.[1] (Official gallery link) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons from Wikimedia Commons