Bard in the Yard: New Shakespeare statue to sit near Elizabethan Shoreditch Theatre

Clay cast of New Inn Yard Bard. Photograph: The Box Office New Inn Broadway Ltd/Hackney Council.

Whether pleasure and action have made the hours seem short, or the world seems stale, flat and unprofitable, all visitors to Shoreditch will be able to take a moment to relax in the company of William Shakespeare by the end of 2019 – or at least a newly-fix’d statue of him.

The sculpture, which will sit near the junction of New Inn Yard and New Inn Broadway, will come as part of the new public realm developments for the area, which will include the remains of The Theatre, on permanent display on the first floor of the central building on New Inn Broadway.

The foundations of The Theatre were found by archaeologists in 2008, having been lost for 400 years. The first purpose-built theatre in London, it was constructed by Richard Burbage for Shakespeare in 1576, prior to being dismantled and moved in 1598 on the construction of the Globe.

Examining the plans at the 12 December meeting of Hackney’s planning sub-committee, Cllr Vincent Stops (Lab, Hackney Central), asked: “Will I be able to sit next to him?”

Cllr Stops was assured this would be possible.