British High Commissioner Greg Quinn honoured the legacy of William Shakespeare, the greatest playwright of all time, with his third Annual Shakespeare Film Night on April 25. This highlighted the season of Shakespeare celebrated worldwide and helped to shine the spotlight on this observance in Guyana. The ‘Bard of Avon’ was on stage too, with a performance of The Tempest, one of his greatest comedies, by the National Drama Company of Guyana the previous week at the National Cultural Centre.
The work screened on the film night was a BBC production of the comedy Twelfth Night. It was the annual season of performances and focus on the work of the world’s most celebrated poet-playwright because he was born on April 23, 1564. Furthermore, it is almost held as yet another of his exceptional qualities that he also died on April 23, his birthday, in 1616.
High Commissioner Quinn emphasized the significance of the timing of the film night by linking the poet and the date of his birthday to the contemporary political affairs and social interests of the United Kingdom. By another fascinating coincidence, April 23 became an important date in English history for yet another reason. On that day in 2018, the Prince of Cambridge, fifth in line to the British throne, was born. He is the third child of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, who is second in line and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.