Dame Judi launches Shakespeare's First Folio exhibition
Hundreds of people attended a special talk by Dame Judi Dench last night (Thursday) as she opened a major new exhibition in Warwick featuring Shakespeare’s First Folio.
The exhibition is hosted by the Collegiate St Mary’s Church in Warwick until 30 June and in addition to the First Folio, a first edition of the King James Bible will be available to view.
During her speech to open the exhibition, entitled ‘A Passionate faith’, Dame Judy talked about her enthusiasm for Shakespeare and the role her Christian faith has played in her life.
The opening is just one of a number of keynote events throughout the three-month exhibition, with theatre performances, film screenings, interactive displays, music performances and events involving noted celebrities, all set to take place.
Alycia Smith-Howard, Education and Visitor Development Officer at the church, said: “It was a fantastic event, we had 450 people here, it was standing room only. Dame Judy was very warm and hilarious and shared some great stories from her career.
“She talked about the Shakespearean roles she has played and of her love of the King James Bible and its importance in her life.
“She also spoke about the significance St Marys Church itself in her life, how she and her husband took advice from the then vicar as they prepared to get married.
“She spent a lot of time looking at both the First Folio and the King James Bible and in her talk encouraged others to view them.
“We’ve got some fantastic events coming up over the course of the exhibition, I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Michael Maloney on 17 May for a talk about Shakespeare’s History plays, before we screen Branaghs’ Henry V in which he appeared.”
Other upcoming events connected to the exhibition include performances by the Playbox Theatre of their reworking of Henry VI between 19 and 21 May and poetry event called Sonnet Slam in June featuring Warwickshire’s Young Poet Laurate Harry Jenkins.
For information about other events connected with the exhibition or to purchase tickets emailevents@stmaryswarwick.org.uk.
