17 Apr 2026
A sell-out audience in St Michael’s Church, on the edge of the Gorhambury Estate, welcomed one of the UK’s greatest actors, Sir Mark Rylance, Academy Award-winner and renowned Shakespeare interpreter, exactly 400 years to the day of Sir Francis Bacon’s death.
He was joined by distinguished Bacon scholar Peter Dawkins one of a series of this year’s BACON400 events to celebrate the life of Francis Bacon, Viscount St Albans who lived at Gorhambury and is buried at St Michael’s.
Sir Mark Rylance is celebrated both for his transformative stage performances and for roles that have reached a global audience, including Bridge of Spies, Wolf Hall, and numerous Shakespearean productions.
Beyond acting, he has a deep interest in Francis Bacon, exploring his intellectual brilliance, his vision for the modern world, and the provocative question of whether he may have been the true author behind Shakespeare’s plays.
Rylance wowed the audience with his characteristic passion for storytelling, making complex ideas accessible and engaging.
Reverend Jonathan Lloyd, who hosted the evening, said: “In St Albans we’re surrounded by so much history it’s easy to stop noticing it, but Mark and Peter brought Sir Francis Bacon so much to life for us it felt like he was in the room! Thanks to them and everyone involved in this 400th anniversary year where we remember St Albans’ most famous Tudor.”
Deputy Lieutenant Annie Brewster also attended the event and said: “It was an enormous honour to meet Sir Mark Rylance and Peter Dawkins and to learn quite how ground-breaking this 17th century St Albanian had been in the world. I did chuckle when Sir Mark reminded us that the home of William Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon, is never mentioned in any of his plays yet St Albans, Bacon’s stomping ground, pops up nearly 20 times!”
For a full programme of BACON400 including exhibitions currently running in St Albans Museum & Gallery and St Albans Cathedral plus various lectures, walks, concerts and fayres visit www.Bacon400.com
