Free drama education resources for lockdown announced by the RSC

Available from the Education section of the RSC website, the free Shakespeare-related resources include: 

Michael Morpurgo’s Tales from Shakespeare

Aimed at young people aged 6-16, the videos combine Michael Morpurgo reading his contemporary Shakespearian tales with performances from members of the RSC acting company. A new Tale is available on Fridays until 5 February and each story is available on demand for 3 months after release. Schools need to register to access the videos, which can be done here. 

Activity Toolkits 

These are available for Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice. Each contains 20 short 15-minute activities for each play, designed to help students revise and refresh their knowledge of the texts, but can also be used by teachers for planning remote lessons. 

Homework Help

During lockdowns in 2020, the RSC asked students to send them their Shakespeare questions through #RSCHomeworkHelp. Hundreds of questions were received, and students can now access video responses from actors including David Bradley, Niamh Cusack, Paapa Essiedu, David Tennant and David Threldall, along with the RSC’s artistic director Gregory Doran. 

‘Live’ Lessons

Recorded lessons on Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth from 2019 and 2020 are now available for all students to watch at any time. The lessons include contributions from RSC directors and actors and explore characters, themes and language of each play. 

Other resources include Shakespeare Unlocked, where students can watch videos exploring key moments from Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Shakespeare Learning Zone containing interactive games, videos and galleries, and the RSC’s Teacher Resources database for ideas for lesson plans. 

Access the resources here. 

www.rsc.org.uk