Past News

Every year the Shakespeare Club of Stratford-upon-Avon takes part in the Birthday Celebrations that take place on the nearest Saturday to 23 April. This year the celebrations were blessed with beautiful weather and a real sense of community. A highlight of the main celebration was the delivery of her inspiring poem on Shakespeare and Stratford by this year’s Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate, Naomi Mba. The Club’s current President Rev Dr Paul Edmondson pulled the Club flag an

The next meeting of the Shakespeare Club will be on Tuesday 12 May 2026 when Professor Alison Shell, of University College London will speak on Shakespeare and the English Counter-Reformation: King Lear’s Spiritual Directions. Professor Shell is an expert on Shakespeare and religion, and gave the sermon at the Shakespeare Service in 2024 which was much enjoyed by members of the Club. She also mentioned the Club’s bicentenary and its significance during her sermon. The meeting

At 1.30pm on June 11th at the Rother Street Arts House the club will be entertaining up to 400 young people from local schools and colleges. We shall be introducing them to the club's 200 year history and showcasing the types of activities the club is involved in. The programme, which runs for just over an hour, includes music, quizzes, videos, presentations, drama and a star turn from highly aclaimed author, Rob Eastaway who will be sharing his insight into Shakespeare's mat

The Club’s 978th meeting was held on Tuesday 7 April 2026 when Dr Manuela Perteghella, Stratford-upon-Avon’s MP elected in 2024, spoke on From Globe to Government: Shakespeare in Translation and in Parliament. She began by talking about her upbringing in Italy where she was introduced to Shakespeare. She commented that many of the elements of The Tempest, a play she has worked on, are reflected in Italian life: the music, jokes, complicated family relationships. Much of her

The death of actor Jane Lapotaire was announced on 12 March 2026. Best known for the RSC production of Piaf and her work on TV, she had many connections with Stratford. She was Gertrude in the Kenneth Branagh Hamlet in 1992-3 and Queen Katherine in the 1996 production of Henry VIII. Her career was limited by a near-fatal brain aneurism in 2000 but she did appear on stage in Stratford as the Duchess of Gloucester in Richard II in 2013 and the Queen of France in Henry V in 20

On 20 February 2026 the Clydebank Post reported on a discovery that sheds light on the history of Shakespeare in Glasgow. A local resident contacted the Glasgow Shakespeare Society telling them he owned a ticket for the Club’s dinner on Shakespeare’s Birthday in 1852. For six shillings (30p), the holder got dinner and a pint of wine. The current society has been reading Shakespeare’s plays since around 1970 and was unaware that Glaswegians had been celebrating Shakespeare a

Presidential Lunch 7th March 2026 It has been customary, over the years, for the Shakespeare Club of Stratford-upon-Avon to celebrate the appointment of its President with a meal. So, to keep up the tradition, the committee invited this year's President, Rev. Dr. Paul Edmondson, to lunch at Lamb's Restaurant. Most of the committee members were present and Paul brought along the three-times President, Professor Sir Stanley Wells (1971/72, 2011/12 and 2020/21). The meal was del

Dr Elizabeth Hardy is a Shakespeare Scholar, a RADA trained actress and a local lass, who was educated at Stratford Girls' Grammar School and earned her PhD from the Shakespeare Institute. She has taught Shakespeare at the two grammar schools in Stratford and has written and directed two Shakespeare inspired shows at what is now The Rother Street Arts House. On Tuesday March 10th at 7.30pm in the Methodist Hall (opposite Holy Trinity Church) she shared her thoughts about Elle

Rebecca Halliwell receives the Shakespeare Club Bursary to support her PhD research on Shakespearean comedy and wellbeing.

Dr Tracy Borman explores the dramatic transfer of power in 1603 and how Elizabeth I’s death shaped Shakespeare’s plays, drawing on her new book The Stolen Crown.

Rob Eastaway revealed Shakespeare’s surprising fascination with numbers, from mental arithmetic to music and science, showing how maths, myth and magic coexisted in his lifetime in an engaging and accessible talk.

Rev Dr Paul Edmondson opened the new season with a warmly received address reflecting on his lifelong relationship with Shakespeare, Stratford, and the global connections shaped by the Bard’s work.

The film of Hamnet The film of Maggie O’Farrell’s book Hamnet has been hugely successful, winning Best Motion Picture, and Best Actress in a Motion Picture for Jessie Buckley in the Golden Globe Awards. The book dramatises the last days of the 11-year old Hamnet Shakespeare and the relationship of his parents, William and Anne Shakespeare (her alternative name of Agnes is used in the film). ​ In Stratford-upon-Avon some have questioned whether the film should have been made