Cheek By Jowl founders Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod take Shakespeare Birthday Award - but Pragnell bows out of hosting lunch

Plans for celebration are under way as the town prepares to mark Shakepeare’s 461st birthday.

There are a few changes this year, with Pragnell no longer hosting the Birthday Lunch. There will be no giant marquee set up in the Theatre Gardens, instead hosting duties for the lunch going to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in conjunction with the Shakespeare Birthday committee, see below.

The parade on Saturday, 26th April, follows the same format as previous years, with crowds assembling from 9.45am. And likewise the traditional Sunday procession to Holy Trinity to hand over the quill takes place ahead of the Shakespeare Sermon at 11.15am.

This year’s Pragnell Shakespeare Birthday Award goes to Cheek By Jowl theatre founders director Declan Donnellan and designer Nick Ormerod.

Professor Michael Dobson of the Shakespeare Institute will, as always, hand over the award.

Speaking of why the pair make worthy winners, he told the Herald: “Under their leadership Cheek by Jowl has now been producing elegant, lucid, searching performances of classic European plays for 44 years – among them some of the best and most influential revivals of Shakespeare since the war – is certainly in their favour.

“The company is truly international (touring tirelessly, with shows sometimes in Russian or Romanian or Spanish or French) but has also made a mark locally: at the RSC, Declan ran the ‘Shakespeare Academy’ at The Other Place, and directed Nonso Anozie as the company’s youngest ever Lear [at the Swan in 2002]. Other productions to mention would be Cheek by Jowl’s all-male As You Like It (which made Adrian Lester, who played Rosalind, a worldwide star).”

Pragnell declined to go into details as to why it is no longer putting on a glitzy lunch, but told the Herald: ““Since 2020 Pragnell has been delighted to have the honour of organising the Shakespeare Birthday Lunch, a prominent celebratory event held during the annual Shakespeare Birthday Weekend in Stratford, where Pragnell was founded. This event has been held in partnership with The Shakespeare Birthday Committee, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare Institute and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust (SBT).

“We are pleased to share that the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust will now be organising the Shakespeare Birthday lunch celebration in conjunction with The Shakespeare Birthday Committee.”

Meanwhile SBT said it was still finalising plans, and has not disclosed where the lunch would be held.

A spokesperson said: "SBT is planning the post-parade Birthday celebrations with the traditional toasts to William Shakespeare. For the first time there will be a toast to William Shakespeare and the Town of Stratford. We are in the process of finalising plans and will share more details soon. In the meantime, we have already shared information in our free-to-access public events on Henley Street and have announced that Shakespeare's New Place will be free to access for everyone during the birthday celebrations, offering a tranquil place to reflect on the day's celebrations on the site of Shakespeare's final home."

The full schedule and events for the Birthday Celebrations will be published in a forthcoming edition of the Herald when all details are confirmed.