ALL the world’s a stage for rising young actor Rory Thomas-Howes, who will perform at Shakespeare’s Globe during the annual Sam Wanamaker Festival, this Sunday (March 31).

And from late July to the end of August he’ll be in Edinburgh with the Paper Mug Theatre, entertaining audiences with a self-penned play, The Partnership.

Rory, who grew up in Worcester, said: “It’s the first full play I’ve written and its a good venue, The Nip, one of the big ones for the Fringe!”

Before then, however, there’s a short performance from a John Marston classic to attend to.

This Sunday, Rory will play the power-grabbing character Mendoza from the pen of a man who was a contemporary of Shakespeare.

Rory said: “It’s a really fun play, but dark; and I play one of the villains!”

Rory, aged 26, was selected as one of 38 up and coming young actors preparing to tread the boards of the world famous stage.

Students from leading drama schools across the country will come together “for a weekend of workshops led by the Globe’s resident text, movement and voice practitioners, culminating in a public performance of scenes by Shakespeare and his contemporaries and an uproarious jig”.

To mark the 400th anniversary of the death of Richard Burbage, Shakespeare’s friend and fellow actor, all scenes presented in this year’s festival will come from plays in which Burbage starred.

Previous festival performers who went on to receive worldwide recognition include Andrew Garfield, best known for Hollywood blockbusters such as The Amazing Spiderman, and Michelle Dockery, best-known for her role as Lady Mary in Downton Abbey. Other participants have since joined major West End shows and have gone on to perform in the Globe’s own productions.

Rory is currently studying at East 15 Acting School.

He said he was “incredibly excited” at the prospect of performing at The Globe.

Rory added: “I’ve stood front row for every Sam Wanamaker Festival since I started drama school, and I can’t believe it’s actually going to be me up there. It’s going to be so much fun and I know I’ll remember it for the rest of my life - I can’t wait!”

Rory is a former pupil of Pitmaston Primary, Worcester Grammar School and Worcester Sixth Form College.

Patrick Spottiswoode, Director, Globe Education, said of this weekend’s show: “This year’s festival will celebrate centenaries of two extraordinary actors: Richard Burbage, the most famous actor to grace the stage of the original Globe, and Sam Wanamaker, our visionary founder. It is thrilling to showcase these students starting their theatrical careers on the Globe stage. I am also delighted to welcome two students from the National Drama School in Warsaw who will present a scene from Hamlet in Polish ahead of our Shakespeare and Poland festival later this summer.”

This year’s Sam Wanamaker Festival is in association with The Federation of Drama Schools, Noël Coward Foundation and Spotlight.