Mark Rylance to host Shakespeare event at Westminster Abbey

Shakespeare's Globe and Mark Rylance have announced a unique event at Westminster Abbey in celebration of Shakespeare's birthday.

Rylance will be joined by a cast of 25 actors to perform the Bard's plays, poetry and songs in 50 'fleeting and intimate encounters' throughout the Abbey. It will take place on 21 and 22 April.

There is a statue of Shakespeare in Poets' Corner at the Abbey, and audience members will have the chance to hear Shakespeare’s iconic words beside the tombs of monarchs such as Richard II and Henry V.

Rylance was made the first artistic director of the Globe in 1995 and held the post for ten years. His most recently production at the Globe was Farinelli and the King for which he was nominated for the Olivier for Best Actor in a Play for the role.

The weekend will also include the 25th anniversary of the Globe and Rylance's Sonnet Walks: Sweet Love Remember’d. The event is a walk through Shakespeare's London and is brought to live be actors. It will take place on 22 and 23 April, starting in Westminster and ending at the Globe.