Audiences are being re-invited to take part in a multi-sensory exploration of the childhood home of one of the most famous writers and storytellers. Taking place at Shakespeare’s Birthplace, in Stratford-upon-Avon, this special event in early March will explore the sights, sounds, smells and even tastes of his life, times and works.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is hosting a multi-sensory journey through the childhood home of one of the greatest writers and storytellers in history. Teaming up with award-winning artist and food historian, Tasha Marks of AVM Curiosities, who has delivered immersive events at Hampton Court Palace, to deliver an experience for all the senses.
“As individuals, we experience all events in our lives through our senses. In fact, Shakespeare himself often described key emotional aspects of his works through their links to the senses. From exploring humanity itself in the Merchant of Venice to discussing the limitations of our senses and how they can play tricks in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, so to have the opportunity to spark our visitors' senses in this new and immersive way whilst telling Shakespeare’s story is exciting.”
Commented Paul Taylor, head of museum and curatorial services at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.
On arrival guests will be greeted with a signature cocktail ‘Grace and Remembrance’. This cocktail has been described as a celebration of Shakespeare’s garden, featuring an array of flavours that would have been commonplace during his lifetime, including basil, chamomile and rosemary.
Guests will enjoy their drink accompanied by a specially commissioned soundscape, designed to evoke feelings linked to Shakespeare’s work. Next, they will embark on a tour of the Birthplace where a series of scents will help bring elements of the Shakespeare story to life. Finally, guests can indulge in the locally curated products including SBT's very own ‘Shakespeare Gin’, made from botanicals found in the Birthplace garden.
“What we are doing with this event is adding another layer of immersion to the overall experience. The Birthplace is a beautiful building with many fascinating stories to share. By adding other senses into the mix, from stimulating the olfactory sensors with richly layered scents, to firing our taste buds with historic flavours we can evoke new feelings and emotions, deepening the experience. We hope audiences leave us feeling even closer to Shakespeare and are reminded of him when their senses are aroused in the future.”
Said Tasha Marks, owner of AVM Curiosities® that has been exploring the relationship between art and the senses through a series of events and interventions since 2011.
Organisers are staying tight-lipped on the specific sensory experiences on offer but have confirmed that they will all be linked to elements of Shakespeare’s life, the time he lived in history and what may have inspired him in his works.
This event follows a year of testing by the team at SBT of adding additional sensory elements to the experience at the Birthplace, including the development of scent boxes and a specially commissioned soundscape to test audience reactions. The results of this have been fed into this special event.
“Audiences are looking for ever more immersive and engaging heritage experiences and we are not short of fascinating stories to tell, nor an incredibly accessible catalogue of works to share. For us, it has been about how we better tell these stories to audiences and the use of multi-sensory engagement has been fascinating to explore. We’ve seen people really engage with our interventions of the past year and we look forward to developing more in the future, including events like this one.”
Added Paul, whose team has worked closely with colleagues in SBT and AVM Curiosities to develop these experience experiments over the past year.
Multi-Sensory Shakespeare - An Evening of Sight, Sound, Taste and Scent will take place on Thursday, March 2nd from 5pm to 8pm. Tickets are £24 and can be purchased at www.shakespeare.org.uk. Due to the interactive nature of this event, tour groups will be limited, so pre-booking is advised to avoid disappointment. Previously booked tickets for the 9th February have been transferred to the event on 2nd March.