A DEDICATED exhibition celebrating Droitwich legend John Heminge is being planned for later this year to mark the 400th anniversary of his work to edit and publish the first collected edition of William Shakespeare’s plays.
The exhibition will take place at the Heritage Centre and will aim to be open between September 11 and November 18.
It will feature a freely accessible display of the ‘First Folio’, the collection collated and edited by Heminge and Henry Condell seven years after the legendary playwright’s death.
The copy of the First Folio was purchased from Stratford upon Avon.
At Monday’s community and amenities meeting, it was also revealed there could be a theatre company enlisted to perform one of the First Folio plays.
Different options have been suggested including Droitwich Spa High School, the Norbury Theatre or an open-air performance at the Salt Fest in September.
Other Droitwich tributes to Heminge include looking into having a commemorative plaque and inscription installed at St Peter’s church, where Heminge was baptised.
The planning process for the plaque is being facilitated by the church.
Of the 36 plays published in the First Folio, 18 had not yet been printed, meaning many of Shakespeare’s classics such as Macbeth and Julius Caesar may have never survived without Heminge’s work.
At Monday’s meeting, the town clerk Mark Keld said the anniversary of the ‘First Folio’ being published marked an important moment for the Heritage of the town.
