This year marks 400 years since the death of William Shakespeare, one of England's most famous writers and who was partially responsible for story-telling and theatre today. Many events are taking place this year to celebrate the famous bard. The end of this month marks the date of his death, and several walks and a special walk on South Bank with actors and clips of his plays will be shown over that weekend.
In Leicester Square, a statue of William Shakespeare stands in the centre amongst the modern-day theatres (the cinemas) and the traditional West End theatres. The statue was created by Giovanni Fontana, and it has been in the square since 1874.
In the statue, Shakespeare is leaning on a pillar with a scroll. The scroll has a quotation from the play 'Twelfth Night' and reads "There is no darkness but ignorance", which is an excellent quote and holds true today.
I actually never noticed the statue until after the square and statue underwent restoration works a few years ago. The square was closed for awhile while these works took place around 2012. In 2014, new water features were added around the statues with dancing water fountains.
There are benches along the square, and if you are lucky enough to find a place to sit and relax and wish to people-watch, you will not be disappointed. Leicester Square is always busy, and it is one of the places where tourists flock to when they come to London.
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