NOTABLE women from Shakespeare day will be brought back to life to tell their tale in Stratford.
The bard’s wife Anne Hathaway will be resurrected as part of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust project celebrating the women in Shakespeare’s life and works.
During weekends throughout November, Anne will be at her family home in Shottery offering a first-hand insight into her life, and telling stories of the couple’s romance and eventual marriage.
They tied the knot in November 1582, while 26-year-old Anne was pregnant. Her husband-to-be was just 18 and would have needed his parents’ permission to marry.
Visitors will also discover aspects of Elizabethan life, including marriage traditions and what life was like for a Tudor housewife.
Amy Wilkinson, who will play Anne, said: “Over the centuries there have been a lot of theories put forward and speculation about what she was like, but with a lack of concrete historical evidence we will never really know.
“In my approach to playing the Anne I will consider how she would have been feeling in the days leading up to her marriage and what preparations she would have made.”
And author Katherine West Scheil, who wrote Imagining Shakespeare’s Wife, will give a guided tour of Anne Hathaway’s Cottage and offer an insight into how imaginings of Anne have changed throughout time.
A series of other events will take place across the Shakespeare family homes as part of the ‘Women and Shakespeare’ month.
Visit www.shakespeare.org.uk/events for full details.
