People on a flight from Gatwick Airport, England to Verona, Italy were given a surprise performance of a Shakespeare play on Wednesday.

In a video recorded by passenger Lee Salter on his mobile phone, actors dressed in costume can be seen performing a condensed version of the playwright’s works in the aisle of the plane.

The performers from The Reduced Shakespeare Company were attempting to set a world record for the highest theatrical performance in celebration of the 450th anniversary of the Bard’s birth.

“My daughter loves the romance of Shakespeare, and her Mum is from Verona province (we used to live in Via Amanti Lovers' Lane, just behind Juliette's house) she got really excited when this began and just grabbed my phone and started filming,” Lee wrote online.

The record attempt was part of an easyJet campaign to make April 23 National William Shakespeare Day.

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The video was taken on 23 April 2014 on board an Easyjet flight with my son and daughter between Gatwick and Verona. My daughter (9) is loves the romance of Shakespeare, and her Mum is from Verona province (we used to live in Via Amanti (Lovers' Lane, just behind Juliette's house) she got really excited when this began and just grabbed my phone and started filming. This was the end of the record-breaking 30 minute performance of the complete works of Shakespeare on his anniversary. My boy (6) on the other hand vomited just after it finished!