BIRMINGHAM.- A major exhibition celebrating Shakespeare and his unique connections with the Midlands is entering its final weeks at the Library of Birmingham.

Marking the 400th anniversary of the poet and playwright’s death, ‘Our Shakespeare’ runs until Saturday 3 September 2016 and features treasures drawn from the Library of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Collection, along with items on loan from the British Library in London. Admission is free.

Our Shakespeare features around 100 items relating to Shakespeare and his work, including books, films, posters and photographs and never before seen local treasures. Highlights include:

• The Library of Birmingham’s copy of the First Folio (1623) – one of the world’s most famous books and the foundation for every subsequent edition of Shakespeare’s works

• Laurence Olivier’s 1955 screenplay of ‘Macbeth’ – the annotated draft of Olivier’s proposed (but never filmed) version of The Scottish Play

• A 1963 Russian edition of Romeo and Juliet (Romeo I Dzul’etta) donated to the Library of Birmingham by a visiting Soviet delegation at the height of the Cold War

• Photographs from Birmingham Repertory Theatre’s pioneering modern dress productions of Shakespeare from the 1920s.

The Our Shakespeare exhibition is the result of a year-long cultural partnership between the Library of Birmingham and the British Library.

“This is an exhibition for everyone,” says Our Shakespeare curator Julian Harrison. “People are able to see items that are rarely on public display that show how Shakespeare made the journey from being a local, Warwickshire lad to become one of the world’s greatest icons of drama and literature. We also explore how Birmingham’s people – through the Library’s Shakespeare Collection and a series of landmark performances staged in the city – have used the region’s connection with Shakespeare as a way of forging a distinctive civic and cultural identity.”

Designed for visitors of all ages this engaging, interactive exhibition tells the story of the Warwickshire lad, the Shakespeare Library, Shakespeare’s Genius and his greatest hits. There is something for everyone: you can find out your Shakespearean insult name and watch clips from the latest hilarious Horrible Histories offering all about Shakespeare.