‘Like of each thing that in season grows…’
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has announced their 2020 winter season, to include The Wars of the Roses, which stages all three parts of Henry VI across two performances; and for students, a First Encounters with Shakespeare production of Twelfth Night, edited and directed by Robin Belfield.
Belfield's First Encounters with Shakespeare: Twelfth Night will play from 24-26 September 2020 at the Swan Theatre, having opened in local schools, before embarking upon a seven-week tour of partner schools and regional theatres across England, with the RSC saying ‘The production will be created in collaboration with the RSC's Regional Theatre Partners and Associate Schools, enabling young people to experience Shakespeare for the fi rst time, not simply as audience members but as theatre makers. Robin Belfi eld and the creative team will respond to young people's ideas, opinions and creativity, from the way the production addresses key themes that strike a chord with young lives, to the way the production is created with a focus on being environmentally responsible.
‘All performances of Twelfth Night will be chilled performances offering a welcoming, safe environment for everyone to encounter Shakespeare for the first time.’
Finally, following its opening in Stratford-upon-Avon alongside The Comedy of Errors and P ericles this Summer, The Winter's Tale will embark on a national tour in January 2021. Confi rmed venues include Salford Lowry in January 2021 and then Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, Canterbury Marlowe Theatre and Newcastle-upon-Tyne Theatre Royal. www.rsc.org.uk
‘So, on your patience evermore attending, new joy wait on you!’
On Saturday 13 June from 10:30 – 4pm, the Nottingham Playhouse will host a day-long workshop with Head of Participation Martin Berry entitled Playing Shakespeare. Following Berry's work as a director on the Read Not Dead series at Shakespeare's Globe, and including two actors from the RSC and National Theatre, participants will be able to work on deconstructing and demystifying some of the bard's most famous scenes and speeches. Pitched at those 16+ who are ‘studying Shakespeare, love Shakespeare, or just wonder what all the fuss is about’, the workshop is only £30 to attend – with bursaries available – and would be a good recommendation to your sixth-formers if you are in the region. For more information and to book, contact participation@nottinghamplayhouse.co.uk
‘There is, sir, an eyrie of children, little eyases, that cry out on the top of question, and are most tyrannically clapped for't…’
© WILLIAM GRAY/SHAKESPEARE BIRTHPLACE TRUST
Children creating clay busts of Shakespearian characters for Shakespeare week
16-22 March 2020 was Shakespeare week in primary schools, a national celebration organised by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Each year the week of events is linked to a theme, which for 2020 was Art and Design. As such, a launch event for this year featured students from two Bristol primary schools in performances of The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet at Brunel's SS Great Britain – the culmination of their series of drama and grafi tti workshops delivered by Bristol-based artists Graft and Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory (STF). The initiative was part of the new Shakespeare Hub Schools project, working with creative practitioners to provide children with a great fi rst introduction of Shakespeare, via the arts, a scheme delivered free to schools by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, and supported by Arts Council England.
Registering online for Shakespeare week gives teachers, families and home educators the opportunity to access 150 free resources covering subjects across the curriculum, including new step-by-step video tutorials from popular children's illustrators on creating portraits of Shakespeare. The website's Kids Zone also offers online challenges for students to complete in school or at home including drawing comic strips, writing poetry or enjoying retellings of Shakespeare's plays. www.shakespeareweek.org.uk
‘Words, words, words…’
The National Theatre's six-week tour to state primary schools across Greater London culminates at the end of this month with a run of Hamlet at the Dorfman Theatre from 30 March-9 April: an energetic retelling adapted for audiences aged 8-11 by Jude Christian and directed by Tinuke Craig.
Director Tinuke Craig has said of the production, ‘It's so important that children from all backgrounds feel that the arts are open to them to participate in and enjoy. The challenge of taking one of the greatest works in the canon and distilling it to an hour-long play for 8-12 year olds is a big one. Not only do we have the task of creating an engaging production for an audience, but we also have a responsibility to introduce younger audiences to theatre, bringing productions to their home turf to provide an early, or often fi rst, experience of Shakespeare that is welcoming, inclusive, exciting and fun.’
Tickets are available from www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/shows/hamlet