Drama graduates not ‘exposed’ to enough Shakespeare, warns Globe artistic director

Michelle Terry, artistic director at Shakespeare’s Globe, warns that drama schools are shifting their focus to preparing students for careers in areas such as film and television, and are spending less time teaching Shakespeare as a consequence.

She acknowledges that drama schools are modernising, but shares her worries that students are not ‘exposed’ to enough of Shakespeare’s work, and have not has a ‘chance to say them out loud’, which she says is a ‘concern’.

‘It’s an ecology question and ecosystem question,’ she said at the Globe’s summer season launch. ‘Because drama schools are also a business, they have to go: “Where are students going to be making their money, where are they going after they leave drama school?”. And not only that, but they also need a certain percentage of alumni who are going to appeal to those people applying, saying: “Come here because Tom Hiddleston came here; Gemma Arterton came here”.’