ALL the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players – so begins the famous monologue in William Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

And so it was at St Augustine’s church in Rodbourne on Saturday morning as six men and women assumed their roles and began what was to be a 24 hour recital of the great playwright’s work.

The unusual initiative was part fundraiser and part commemoration, taking place as it did 400 years on from his death.

From 10.30am on Saturday until the same time the following day, a team of enthusiastic volunteers from the church community worked their way through Much Ado About Nothing, The Tempest, Hamlet and Macbeth to name just a few.

They were hoping to raise up to £1,000 to go towards much-needed repairs to the church – described as “a bit of a gem” hidden away just a short hop from the Bruce Street Bridges roundabout.

Neil Fisher, 41, is the church’s lay minister, warden and organist and he explained how the idea came about.

“We held a 24 hour bible reading about three years ago to raise money for repairs to the church bell – that went really well so we thought we would try it again,” he said.

The original idea was to perform just one of Shakespeare’s plays, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, but as time went on the plans became rather more ambitious.

What started as one ended up becoming 11 as the volunteers swelled and enthusiasm grew.

Neil added: “The church needs a lot of work doing to it – re-pointing of the bricks, the wiring needs to be done, the heating needs some work, the floor and the lighting need doing.

“We’re starting to raise the money now but it’s going to take quite a long time – this will get the ball rolling.

“We’ve got people coming in throughout the day, some of us will be here for the whole 24 hours just keeping it going.”

The team took a break from the major stage works between 2am and 4am to perform a selection of sonnets and poems before launching into a Comedy of Errors as they headed towards the finish line.

St Augustine’s, one of Swindon’s railway churches, has been at the heart of the community for more than 100 years.

Located half a mile from the site of the former railway works, the church was originally built after congregations outgrew the schools and halls that would host religious services.

Now, with the community of railway workers having long since moved on, the church has a different function.

They describe themselves as more than a building, an inclusive and not exclusive community of people serving one of the larger parishes near the centre of Swindon.