Announced at the beginning of February, ReadThrough aims to improve Drama and English students’ understanding of curriculum texts through live read throughs performed by a cast of theatre, film and television professionals.
Last week’s reading of Macbeth attracted more than 26,000 students from across the UK, with nearly 500 schools signed up.
In the last two weeks, nearly 700 schools have been in touch with ReadThrough to enquire about their services.
The service is designed for all students, but is particularly aimed at students from less privileged backgrounds in the hope that it will help ‘level the playing field’ in Drama and English.
The ReadThrough founders said: ‘We have been overwhelmed by the level of interest, which has been quite something for our small team to manage. To have more than 26,000 students and teachers tuning in was incredibly exciting, and the feedback we have already received from students and schools has been phenomenal.
‘Our aim is to hold regular live readings for all students to attend as they please, and we hope to raise enough money to run individual workshops for as many schools as possible.’
Responding to the Macbeth read through, a student from Stonehenge School said: ‘I thought that the whole cast were amazing and that the performance overall, despite being unable to express the play through physical interaction, was just astonishing […] It was extremely beneficial and, above all, enjoyable to watch.’
A Kickstarter campaign to support the service is currently live.