With the aim of making their work as accessible as possible for students, The Donmar Warehouse is sharing its Shakespeare Trilogy online via the National Theatre's on demand in schools service. The launch took place at the Lowry in Media City, Salford on 14 January. The day focused on Julius Caesar, the first of the three productions, set in an all-female prison. The workshops held throughout the morning encouraged students to engage with the plot, themes, and consider the play's significance in the world today. These workshops were followed by a screening of the production and finally, a Q&A with the play's director, Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!, Iron Lady) actor Jade Anouka (Trauma ITV), and Phil McCormack, Education Manager at The Donmar Warehouse.
After an initial exercise that got everyone to grips with the plot, the students from Moorside High school continued with a workshop that examined the themes of the play. We were lucky enough to be joined by Phyllida Lloyd, who gave her insight as to how the themes within Julius Caesar, specifically those of power and persuasion, are so relevant in today's political climate. The wonderfully engaging workshop leaders, Anne and Georgina, also shared several short videos of cast members, and Phyllida herself, that really helped cement the ideas laid through the exercises.
The second workshop posed the question ‘What makes a powerful speech?’ Students were given Mark Antony's famous ‘Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears’ to play with. The exercises got the students considering their volume, diction, body language, and how to put across ideas more effectively. Their heightened understanding of the text and how best to deliver it was clear through the observable difference between the initial and final read.
By the time of the screening the students were invested and engaged, having a clear concept of the key plot points, themes and language and they were bursting with questions for the Q&A that concluded the afternoon. Having an all female cast take on such a male dominated play raised important questions from teachers and students alike. From conforming to gender roles and confronting what it really means to be ‘masculine’, to effectively bringing Shakespeare's work into a 21st century environment, it's apparent that access to these resources and the screening of these productions is going to inspire imperative conversations in classrooms across the UK.
The Shakespeare Trilogy on Screen Roadshow ran over two weeks in January 2019. For information about future opportunities, email Liz Bate on discovertrilogy@donmarwarehouse.com