"All the world's a stage," wrote William Shakespeare, who died 400 years ago this week. But he played out much of his life in one small English market town: Stratford-upon-Avon.
"It's the home of one of the greatest writers who's ever lived, whose works are translated into all the world languages ... And it's therefore a magnet to come to understand a little bit about what made William Shakespeare, what formed him, to find out about the history of his time, and to celebrate his on-going legacy," said Dr Paul Edmondson, head of research at Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
Shakespeare was born here in 1564 in a half-timbered house in Henley Street. The home has been restored to look as it would have when Shakespeare was 10. His father John, who was appointed mayor of the town in 1568, had a glove-making workshop that's been recreated downstairs, while the room where Shakespeare was believed to have been born is upstairs.
"Childbirth is always difficult, but even worse 400 years ago and baby Shakespeare was lucky to survive, because there was plague in the town the year he was born and the parish register is rammed full with burials for that year," said Edmondson.
Some 2 million tourists visit the town annually but it's not just Shakespeare's Birthplace that they come to see.
Around 5.5 kilometres away in the village of Wilmcote, tourists travel back in time to experience the sights, sounds and smells of a 16th century Tudor farm. It was here that Shakespeare's mother, Mary Arden, grew up. It's thought Shakespeare would have spent some of his childhood helping with tasks around the farm. Literary experts believe Wilmcote makes an appearance as "Wincot" in Shakespeare's comedy "The Taming of the Shrew".
"He was always in some way a country lad at heart. He loved this town, he perhaps hated this town a little bit, obviously forging his career in London with the professional theatres," said Edmondson.
During the late 1580s and early 1590s, Shakespeare left Stratford to seek fame and fortune in London. In 1597, he gained enough success to purchase a new family home in Stratford-upon-Avon called "New Place," where he's believed to have written many of his famous plays.
This year is an important one for Stratford-upon-Avon and its 26,000 residents. The town is marking 400 years since Shakespeare's death on April 23 with new exhibitions, theatre performances and a colorful parade through its busy streets.
