South East Cornwall has the perfect celebration for Shakespeare’s birthday today – an exhibition dedicated to the Bard.

‘Discovering Shakespeare Piece by Piece’ offers fresh insights into the life, work and legacy of England’s greatest playwright.

Staged at Stuart House in Liskeard, the exhibition is the work of Shakespeare enthusiast Tim Norman, from Torpoint.

‘I’ve always been interested in theatre,’ he said, ‘particularly technology and backstage - the mechanics of how it works.

‘I went to the Central School of Speech and Drama in London when I was 18, and arrived when they were holding commemorations on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

‘I visited lots of the exhibitions that were going on and from there my general theatre interest grew and became particularly Shakespearian.’

The exhibition draws on Tim’s extensive personal collection of Bard-related memorabilia, including props and costumes acquired from the Royal Shakespeare Company.

He has a website, theatrabilia.wixsite.com, which includes his Shakespeare collection as part of ‘A celebration and showcase of my theatre memorabilia collection; a growing plethora of programmes, souvenir brochures, leaflets, books and other related paraphernalia.’

Separate sections of the exhiibition focus on the Bard’s early life and ‘lost years’ after his marriage to Anne Hathaway, the Globe Theatre, Shakespeare’s London life and contemporaries, his death, and performances of his work across different media.

The exhibition can be seen daily at Stuart House until Saturday, April 28.