"Every year, Jackson baffles me with his energy and passion. His in-depth knowledge of the play, his enthusiasm and professionalism is outstanding. As he talks about himself too, and all the actors he’s worked with and all the plays he’s done, the children are in awe of him. The children in our year love it every year and we will be booking for next year very soon." Hasland School
"Just wanted to feed back that The Tempest workshop yesterday was fantastic and a really good energiser for being something totally different in the schedule (home-learning) ... Gabriel said it was “just amazing”, he loved it! It has inspired him to ask to look up the original play with me, which is the best endorsement.." Parent, The Hall School
"I wanted to email to thank you for today's inspiring (streamed) workshops. The pupils were all fully engaged through your scientific knowledge and your inclusive poetry collaboration which was both fun and successful. This term I run a poetry club for Year 5 and in today's session we used a random object generator to choose a subject about which to write a clerihew to follow up from your workshop." Clifton High School
"Thank you for the huge energy and thought put into today's work with year 9. The students thoroughly enjoyed the activities and have gained an insightful introduction to the play in a way we couldn't have provided without you." St Benedict's School
Introducing Shakespeare
The ideal way for your students to begin to get to know both the man and his works, Introducing Shakespeare gives an actor's perspective on the writer and the writing. And, fittingly, it's all done through drama techniques, as students work as a whole group, in smaller groups and in pairs on a range of activities designed to take them through the landmarks of Shakespeare's life, explore the contexts in which he wrote, analyse the genres in which he specialised and bring to life some of his most famous (and infamous!) characters.
Exploring (depending on time): Shakespeare's life and times; Shakespearean genres, characters and characterisation, simple stagecraft.
Duration: 1 hour – half a day, depending on the number of classes.
"The children absolutely adored every minute and you have truly inspired them to love Shakespeare! The final assembly was fabulous and we've had such lovely comments from the parents and staff. It blew me away what the children accomplished in a day and a half. You are an inspiration! St Joseph's Catholic Primary
"I would like to thank you for the excellent Shakespeare day you delivered before Easter. The children adored it and have regularly spoken about it since - many saying it was their favourite day of Year 6! Hasland Junior School
Spotlight On Shakespeare
Over four hundred years since his death, Shakespeare’s poetry is still being read, performed and listened to all over the world – which says something for its power and beauty! This experiential and highly active workshop sees pupils being introduced to a number of drama activities and approaches as we take them right through the play, exploring the backstory, meeting the main characters and bringing key moments to life. Our Shakespeare programmes are all planned and delivered by professional theatre practitioners, and so give pupils a uniquely “actor’s eye view” of the text. We certainly don’t shy away from the verse - and our approaches work with any of the plays!
Exploring (depending on time): the importance of backstories, narrative structure, characterisation, cause and effect, simple stagecraft, the role of verse.
Duration: 1 hour – 1 day, depending on the number of classes.
"The workshop was absolutely excellent and surpassed my expectations. I loved the way the children really got into the text, which was my aim. The thing that surprised was the breadth of Jo's experience which resulted in such a rich experience for the children." Silverhill School
"I just wanted to say how much we all enjoyed the Shakespeare workshops delivered by Jackson this week. I received only positive feedback from staff and I was very impressed with the level of engagement from all the pupils in the workshops I took part in. Thank you! Alderton Juniors
The Play's the Thing!
Exploring: character and characterisation, narrative structure, Shakespearean verse and prose, performance skills, staging.
Suitable for: Upper KS2, KS4 / P6/P7 - S4, up to four classes over the course of a single day.
"The workshop was absolutely fantastic. The students were all engaged and entertained and gained a joyful and interesting introduction to Shakespeare. Thank you to As Creatives for a wonderful day." Thornleigh School
"The children LOVED the workshop. They raved about the session afterwards and talked about what they had done well into the following week. The activities that Jo chose fit in perfectly with the English curriculum and the English sessions which we had already completed with year 6. We loved the sessions and would love to use As Creatives again during our Shakespeare topic next year." Dovedale School
Snippets of Shakespeare
It’s unlikely that any of Shakespeare’s actors ever saw full copies of the plays they appeared in, instead using “cue cards” for rehearsals. And this challenging workshop builds on that theatre history. After taking part in drama exercises designed to explore the principal characters of “Romeo and Juliet” (and unlock the power of verse), this unique workshop sees pupils separating into small groups, each given all the information they need (and armed with examples of verse and/or prose), to plan, prepare and perform specified elements of the overall play. The workshop culminates in all the scenes being performed in sequence – with each being peer reviewed by its audience.
This approach can be used to explore any of Shakespeare’s plays – and for primary schools we would also particularly recommend “Macbeth”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Tempest”.
Exploring (depending on time): theatre history, narrative structure, characterisation, cause and effect, simple stagecraft, the role of verse.
Duration: 1 hour – 2½ hours, depending on the number of classes.
"You helped us understand the play in an unusual but fun way. You really inspired me to read Macbeth and your energy made me want to do something similar to what you are doing in future. I really hope you can visit our school again.” Pupil, Pedmore Technology College
"It was a fantastic day for the children….They were all engaged and thoroughly enjoyed the day. In particular, the work with our cast of Henry V was invaluable!" All Saints Catholic Primary School
Shakespeare for GCSE and A Level / S4 - S6
Give your students an insider’s perspective of the play they’re studying, and a chance to shine in their exams, by exploring key scenes and/or themes and/or characters in dramatic detail. Tied to the relevant syllabus, these workshops will be informed by your needs - and the more time you can give us with your cohort the better!
"We were SO impressed with the workshops this year - both Year 8 and Year 9 loved them and really learnt a lot from them." Fairfield High School
"All the students enjoyed the session as it was a very interactive session. Students had a great time learning to work on a different kind of poetry style which was very entertaining!" Ashville College
The Poetry of Shakespeare
Shakespeare’s greatest characters change as the plays they inhabit progress. So Macbeth moves from acting as his country’s brave and loyal servant to betraying it in a sea of blood. Juliet changes from a spoilt and truculent teenager to a tragic heroine – and Prospero undergoes a complete sea change from vengeful sorcerer to paragon of forgiveness. This experiential workshop uses drama techniques to introduce students to characters from a play of your choice, then introduces them to Clerihews – four line, descriptive, rhyming poems.
Exploring depending on age, focus and time): backstories, narrative structure, characterisation, cause and effect, simple stagecraft, the roles of verse and prose, iambic pentameter, the power of metaphor, theatre history, “hidden stage directions”, Shakespearean conventions.
Duration: 1 lesson – 1 day, depending on focus and number of classes
"I’d like to say a huge thank you to Jackson for his delivery of our Shakespeare poetry workshop…the students have really enjoyed learning about Shakespeare in a very active way. All members of staff were very impressed with Jackson and have all commented on how they cannot wait to use some of the techniques to inform their future practice.” Guardian Angels Catholic Primary School
"Today was genuinely my favourite ever workshop with Jo. My Year 4’s absolutely loved our full day of all things Macbeth and we cannot wait to continue back in the classroom tomorrow. Jo; you’re inspirational!" Portsmouth Grammar School
Ways into Shakespeare (Teacher CPD workshop / INSET Day)
Supporting you in rising to the challenges of the new curriculum, this highly engaging and experiential workshop, which can be booked as a twilight or half-day or whole-day INSET, explores ways of using Shakespeare to develop pupils’ understanding of text through speculating, hypothesising and exploring ideas. In addition, of course, it will equip you with a range of approaches that can be transferred to any Shakespeare play!
"Lots of great ideas that I can apply to my GCSE teaching – and loads of accessible and fun ways of introducing Shakespeare to lower school classes too!” English Teacher, Fazakerley High
"All year groups and ages had a fabulous day. All were fully engaged and immersed in the story. Many skills developed- speaking and listening, creative skills- drama, role play, story telling, performing to an audience, enhanced reading and writing skills. We cannot thank you enough. The whole school had a great day and our learning was interactive, fun and engaging." Manor Park Primary
Shakespeare Workshops for Schools - Learning Outcomes
- Familiarisation with characters and narrative
- Understanding of text
- Awareness of Shakespeare’s "hidden stage directions"
- Shakespearean conventions
Cross-curricular links
English, Drama, History, Art, Science
For full details of our Shakespeare Workshops for Schools please drop us a line at info@ascreatives.com or call 0151 708 8886.
"That was simply brilliant. Thank you so much for a wonderful morning. It far surpassed my expectations and I know that the children really enjoyed every minute. You managed to captivate the children and truly got the best from them. The activities were perfectly pitched and I would really recommend your workshop for all as your enthusiasm for Shakespeare and great manner made it a true pleasure." Reddiford School - Streamed Shakespeare Workshop
Shakespeare Birthplace Trust
Read about our work with the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust here
Shakespeare Week will take place during 21st - 27th March 2024.
Shakespeare Week is a national annual celebration giving primary school children a great first encounter with Shakespeare. Find out more by visiting http://shakespeareweek.org.uk/
Find out more about our Shakespeare Workshops
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