There is Some Soul of Good: An Action-Centred Approach to Teaching Shakespeare in Schools

Summary

I really look forward to doing Shakespeare when I come to school…Instead of just writing what happens in the play, like conversations between characters, we actually live it and we try to feel how the characters must feel. I think that is a good way of learning.

(ten-year-old girl from a school in Rotherham in the RSC Learning and Performance Network)

Im anfang war die tat

This article offers an account of the theory, practice and relevance of the Royal Shakespeare Company's recent work with schools in England and the implications that this might have for creating a foundation for internationalizing a pedagogy for teaching and learning Shakespeare based in the practices of the ensemble and the rehearsal room. We argue that there is something distinctive about this approach that takes the artistry and critical engagement of its pedagogy beyond the conventional uses of ‘active methods’ in the teaching of Shakespeare. It begins with a commitment to the idea that engagement with Shakespeare and his plays should be a cultural as well as a curriculum entitlement for children of all ages and abilities.