There is a chance that you still have a few Shakespeare quotes in your brain. Everybody in the UK has studied Shakespeare at school. Whether they end up loving him or not. The top Shakespeare scholars gather to discuss the details of Shakespeare’s works. It’s evident that Shakespeare’s plays as well as his poetry still have a special place in English education, nearly 450 years after his death. Children are encouraged to make creative leaps in learning Shakespeare’s language and meaning through new methods of teaching it.
New English curriculum insists that all students study Shakespeare. It covers at least two Shakespeare plays between the ages 11. and 14. Since the birth of public education, there has been much debate about Shakespeare’s teaching methods.
Victorians introduced Shakespearean literature reading to “improve” young minds. This was a desk-based approach that required students to examine individual scenes of the plays in detail.
Rex Gibson, an academic from Cambridge, published Teaching Shakespeare in 1998. This book focuses on the theatrical performance of Shakespeare’s plays. Gibson claimed that Shakespeare’s plays can be viewed as scripts, which allows students to interpret the text in a way that is relevant to them.
The complexity of Shakespeare’s language makes it so well suited for creative approaches by students. Children need to think in new ways because of the complex language, plots, and distant setting of Shakespeare’s plays. They can even perform the plays, which allows them to explore the texts and gives them a sense ownership and confidence.
Gibson’s philosophy and his practical exercises have helped to create a more coherent approach to Shakespeare education for children.
Even though companies such as Shakespeare’s Globe and the Royal Shakespeare Company have their own ways of teaching Shakespeare to children, they all share a commitment for ensemble, rehearsal-room exercises. Children and teachers are being increasingly invited to play Shakespeare.
Playing with language
Joe Winston is a drama education specialist who has shared his playful approach to Shakespeare with RSC students. He’s used games and exercises to help children four- and five-years old explore The Tempest.
My ongoing research on the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival has focused on how teachers can encourage their students to explore the vocal capabilities of the language and to have fun with the unfamiliar words. One teacher encouraged her class of nine-year-olds and ten year-olds to learn the language of Richard III. Children love this and start rehearsals feeling that this language is “theirs”.
It is becoming more common to start with a playful approach such as this, which doesn’t require you to give lengthy explanations about Shakespeare’s language. Linguistic research is also proving increasingly useful. Guy Cook, Linguist, says that children learn language as easily by playing with “form”, as they do with “content”.
The ensemble is another important aspect of a Shakespeare Workshops for primary approach to Shakespeare education. This is a theatrical model that encourages collaboration and creativity. It is based on the principle that working together creates a safe place, but it is never comfortable. This reduces pressure (there is no right answer) but also lowers the stakes. Group members are still responsible to each other, the demands in the text, and if they perform, the audience. The teacher, instead of being the unchallengeable authority, is encouraged to discourage “star turns” by one child.
In practice, an ensemble approach might see parts shared by the entire cast. Imagine a primary school class taking over the Globe stage during performances of The Tempest. Prospero denies Ariel his freedom, and one student stands in the center as Prospero. 25 children then weave around him as Ariel, calling out their responses in chorus.
Students can explore the scene together during lessons or rehearsals using freeze frames or modern improvisations. Teachers can also encourage discussion and invite students to bring back their scripts to help them think of other versions or link with their own interests. One example is the group of GCSE kids who were rehearsing Titus Andronicus. They were delighted at its dark content and themes about loyalty and betrayal. The final performance will only feature two actors, but the whole class was involved in shaping the scene.
Taking creative risks
This approach uses games, exercises and improvisations created by the teacher. Students must make a leap of faith. This method of working on Shakespeare takes time, trust, and risk.
In terms of grade levels and education levels, the artistic and educational results aren’t always predictable. But, Shakespeare’s Schools Festival conducted a national evaluation. The RSC also commissioned research that showed that students grow in academic engagement and confidence when they are able to play with Shakespeare.
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