MANCHESTER, England, March 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

Shakespeare Week, 14-20 March 2016  

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust's annual celebration of Shakespeare for primary school children  

http://www.shakespeareweek.org.uk

Join the conversation @shakespeareweek / #ShakespeareWeek

Romeo and Juliet has been voted the number one Shakespeare play Britain's children would most like to see. 

The tragic tale of the star-crossed lovers and the idealism of youth is one of Shakespeare's earliest plays and was picked by more than a third of the 1,700 children who voted ahead of Shakespeare Week,

14-20 March, and the 400^th anniversary of the playwright's death.

A Midsummer Night's Dream, the comedy adventure set in a forest with mischievous fairies, polled second favourite place with 12% of the vote and the story of Hamlet, the ghostly tale of the Prince of Denmark was the third most popular children's choice. 

Children across Britain voted for their Shakespeare Most Wanted play in the poll conducted by children's newspaper, First News and The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for Shakespeare Week.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said:  

"At the heart of our commitment to extending opportunity is making sure all children have access to the very best of our great literary and cultural heritage - Shakespeare has a place right at the heart of this.

"Shakespeare Week provides a fantastic opportunity to make these great works accessible and exciting for our primary school children, providing them with an early introduction to a wide variety of texts before they come to formally embrace Shakespeare as part of the secondary curriculum.

"More than 400 years on I am thrilled to see this initiative bringing these works to life for a new generation of pupils and we will continue to do all we can to make sure every child is able to experience and enjoy Shakespeare for themselves."

What's happening during Shakespeare Week?  

Together with some of Britain's best-loved institutions, from libraries to the BBC, Shakespeare Week has sparked a total Shakespeare take-over in the year that celebrates 400 years since his death.

Full press release, details of the poll and images can be found here:  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gbphoedtnyzinff/AAB5xc5NKCHA5qDauy3CDWcVa?dl=0

SOURCE Shakespeare Birthplace Trust