Libraries across Sunderland are celebrating the Bard with a week of events.
There are a variety of events from performance workshops to special effects make-up sessions on the theme of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Sunderland-based Theatre Space North East.
Craft sessions are being held in local primary schools as well as two family craft sessions on Saturday March 19.
Families will be able to create a Shakespeare portrait, make an Elizabethan scroll, test out their quill skills and write out their favourite Shakespeare quote.
These sessions are being held at Washington Town Centre Library, from 10.30am till 12pm and at the
City Library and Arts Centre, from 11am till 12.30pm.
Time for Rhyme sessions in libraries are also joining in, with a Shakespeare Lullaby specially written for National Shakespeare Week.
Councillor John Kelly, Portfolio Holder for Public Health, Wellness and Culture at Sunderland City council, said: “Four hundred years after his death, Shakespeare remains one of our greatest playwrights and it’s only right that this year of all years we should celebrating his lasting legacy.
“Love him or loathe him, generations of children will remember studying Shakespeare at school.
“I bet most of us can still recite or recognise at least one line from his plays so he really does play a unique role in our culture and I’m delighted that our libraries are able to play their part in bringing his work to life.”
The events on Saturday, March 19 are open to the public.