IT or not IT?

IT or not IT? If that is indeed the question then the RSC, whose two day collaboration with a local school and Samsung scooped a top accolade at this year's BETT awards, certainly has the answer – thanks to a truly innovative approach to Shakespeare.

Winning the ‘Collaboration With A School’ prize, their efforts saw over 180 students at Welcombe Hills School in Stratford-Upon-Avon turn their educational setting into a live theatre space over the course of two days, utilising some immersive and multi-sensory technology to explore Romeo and Juliet in a highly accessible way.

Thanks to some futuristic tech from Samsung, such as VR headsets and 360 degree cameras, the school turned rooms such as their hall and Drama studio into sensory spaces to place students into the world of the young lovers. The latter became the tomb while the former doubled up as a marketplace, for example, all of which helped pupils explore the story through a variety of activities on site which included designing short promo videos and trailers for their own film version of the play.