The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is to open a new exhibition and visitor centre at The Bard’s birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.

The “Life, Love & Legacy: A New Introduction to William Shakespeare” exhibition is due open in April next year, and will be the centrepiece of the trust’s five houses.

Diana Owen, director of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said: “Shakespeare still has powerful resonance around the world and if he were alive today, he would tell his own story in an entertaining and theatrical way, with sound, lighting, entrances and exits – all the techniques he used to brilliantly in his plays.

“With Life, Love & Legacy, we hope to be able to introduce more people to our work and treasures and of course to Shakespeare. This is first step to making both Shakespeare and Stratford an unmissable experience for visitors from the UK and around the globe.”

The trust has appointed Surrey-based creative design and AV specialists Sarner – which has worked on projects for the Tussauds Group and the Royal Navy Museum in Portsmouth among others – to undertake the project.

The project has received £250,000 from Advantage West Midlands, along with further match funding from the trust itself.

The refitting begins this month, but Shakespeare’s Birthplace will remain open throughout.