William Shakespeare

The second patient to receive the vaccine in Coventry earlier has grabbed the attention of social media - and that's no surprise, given he's called William Shakespeare.

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

The 81-year-old had the injection at University Hospital, just 20 miles from Stratford-upon-Avon, birthplace of his namesake.

We were reasonably pleased with "go ply thy needle" in our update of 07:56, but we've been totally outdone by Twitter users whose brains were more sprightly at that time of the morning.

They came up with "The Taming of the Flu" - brilliant! - and "The Two Gentlemen of Corona".

And someone asked whether Margaret Keenan, the first person in the UK to be vaccinated, was patient 1A, which in turn prompted the question whether Mr Shakespeare was "Patient 2B or not 2B?"

As for the man himself, he said he was pleased to be given the jab, adding: "I need to say, the staff at this hospital are wonderful."

Today is Shakespeare's birthday... and if you're missing out on attending one of the Bard's plays due to the lockdown, worry thee not.

Geograph/Des BlenkinssopCopyright: Geograph/Des Blenkinssop

The Globe Theatre in London is streaming performances from its back catalogue during the pandemic restrictions, for free.

Other London theatres are also putting shows online, including the Southbank's National Theatre which this week is featuring Twelfth Night, again for free, starring Tamsin Greig.

So get dressed up, order your interval drinks, and take a prime seat...in your living room!

Sir Patrick Stewart is sharing daily videos of him performing Shakespearean sonnets during the coronavirus crisis.

The actor, who was born in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, plans to film himself reading all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Sir Patrick, who lives in Los Angeles, said: "All my family are in the UK and of course my concerns for them are very high."

Veteran West Yorkshire-born actor Sir Patrick Stewart is among the ever-growing number of famous faces doing their best to raise people's spirits as the coronavirus lockdown continues.

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

The Star Trek and X-Men star, who's originally from Mirfield, is performing Shakespeare's sonnets, recording one a day and sharing it via his Twitter page.

Introducing the plan, he said: "When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me - there wasn't much - and as she put it in front of me she would say, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.' How about, 'A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away'?":

The Royal Shakespeare Company has made 17 productions available to watch online.

They include Richard II with David Tennant, Hamlet and Othello.

RSCCopyright: RSC