THE WORSHIPFUL COMPANY OF
STATIONERS AND NEWSPAPER MAKERS
STATIONERS’ HALL AVE MARIA LANE LONDON EC4M 7DD
telephone 020 7246 0988 facsimile 020 7489 1975
email [email protected] website www.stationers.org
The Stationers’ Company
TUESDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2016
Bow to the Bard - A Shakespearean Literary
Banquet of mirth and merriment!
Your Livery Committee presents
In celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare
BOW TO THE BARD
We know so little about William Shakespeare. What was his middle name? What was he up to between
1585 and 1592? Why does he set so many plays in Italy and yet have characters setting sail from Verona
and Milan? And was Shakespeare actually written by Shakespeare? Even Dickens and George Bernard
Shaw had their doubts. To judge by his signature, he couldn’t even spell, so how come he could add over
2000 words to the English language (600 of those in Hamlet alone)?
It is most unlikely that any serious answers will be found, which may be cold comfort to some. We may
well play fast and loose with his memory, old Bill may well be more sinned against than sinning, but more
in sorrow than in anger your intrepid Livery Committee, with bated breath, will delve into the works of
Shakespeare but come to no foregone conclusions. The wish, indeed, is father to the thought.
‘Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears’
‘To be or not to be; that is the question …’
‘All the world’s a stage …’
‘Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once
more!’
‘Cry Havoc, and let slip the dogs of War’
‘What light through yonder window breaks?’
‘Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds…’
‘We are such stuff as dreams are made on.’
‘Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him Horatio’
The evening will begin with a drinks reception followed by a sumptuous three-course banquet, with a
suitably Elizabethan themed menu. White, red and a pudding wine will be served, along with port at the
end of the meal. Between each course, you will be entertained by musicians and actors (players of the
Royal Shakespeare Company), who promise to enthral and delight the senses! Rumour has it that there
may be a sing-song at the end as well! So brush up your Shakespeare and come along for what promises
to be a superb evening!
Programme of the evening
6.30 pm
Drinks Reception in the Court Room (complete with Elizabethan serenade)
7.00 pm
Banquet in the Hall in the traditional way, with entertainment
10.00 pm
Stirrup Cup
10.30 pm
Carriages
Please book your tickets using the form below, or online at www.stationers/events.
Applications will be dealt with on a first come, first served basis.
‘Delays have dangerous ends!’ … so book now to avoid disappointment!
The deadline for bookings is Tuesday, 9 February 2016 after which no refunds will be given.
‘A Horse! A Horse! My Kingdom for a Horse!’
Tickets cost £80 inc. VAT (no increase from last year) and Pour Mémoire cards will be issued.
‘The better part of valour is discretion’
‘Et tu, Brute?’
‘Cry God for Harry, England and Saint George!’
Dress code: Appropriate costume from a Shakespeare Play or Black Tie
Stationer ladies are rightly famed for their elegance and no gentleman could comment on their appearance. But the gentlemen who simply appear in black tie will be divested of a five pound note at the
door (that is 300 groats with inflation). There will be a prize for the best dressed lady and gent.
‘If music be the food of love, play on…’

To: Giles Fagan, Deputy Clerk, Stationers’ Hall, Ave Maria Lane, London EC4M 7DD
SHAKESPEAREAN BANQUET — TUESDAY, 16 FEBRUARY 2016
Please reserve me
place(s) at £80 each. I enclose a cheque for £
made payable to the Stationers’ Company
Name (Title, first, surname)
Address
Postcode
Email address
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Name……………………………................................Company Name…………………………………………………………………
Please include any post nominals
(e.g. MBE, DL etc)
Name……………………………................................Company Name…………………………………………………………………
Name……………………………................................Company Name…………………………………………………………………
Dietary / seating requirements
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