Shakespeare for Schools

"Master Shakespeare, I presume?": An introduction to the life, times and language of the iconic playwright. A ‘will for words’ - meet 8 year old William Shakespeare, who asks where words come from and invents a number of his own. Have some fun creating new words too, thinking about the sounds and the meanings. We will also get the chance to meet some of the wild, fantastical characters from a play of your choice. 

Macbeth:  We begin by exploring the story, themes, characters and language of the “Scottish play”.  Activity example - Ambition: If Macbeth were on the X Factor, would he approach winning with the same blood thirsty desire as he does to become king? (In pairs) Imagine you need to destroy your fellow singing opponent to assure your win. Have a go at writing 6 lines of murderous dialogue, full of as much horror as you dare muster, remembering to set the scene purely with words as there are no sets or special effects. What can you evoke with the power of words? Now it’s Shakespeare’s turn. “Now is the very witching time of night…”

The Tempest: An exploration of the story, themes, characters and language set on Prospero’s island. Activity example - Caliban and civilizing: Does the natural world need to be tamed and civilized? Did you know that ‘to civilize’ means to cut down trees?! How about growing trees and creating a tableau of a wild ‘uncivilised’ wood with strange creatures like a Caliban within your very own classroom?

Romeo and Juliet: An introduction to the story, themes, characters and language of the star-crossed lovers. Activity example - Conflict in the city: Creating a vibrant city space in the classroom, but a city where conflict resides continually. How does it feel to walk around the space when there is an undercurrent of conflict? If the buildings could speak, what would they say about the feuding gangs and their threatening behaviour?

Midsummer Night’s Dream: An introduction to the story, themes, characters and language of this most magical of plays. Activity example - Breaking time and space: By cracking Father Time in half (a handmade cardboard clock) we explore the different worlds that co-exist within the play at the same time. We create our own brand new world, full of newly imagined words and characters that can be secretly ‘folded away’ into the fabric of space/time to be rediscovered whenever we choose. Shakespeare‘s coined words will be written on ‘leaves’ and hung in the trees/school grounds to be discovered and deciphered by the pupils.