KS2 English - Shakespeare's theatre

This film is from the series i.am Will Shakespeare available on BBC Teach.

Ricky Boleto and Leah Gooding visit Shakespeare’s Globe, the reconstruction of the London theatre which Shakespeare himself helped to finance when it was built in 1599.

They learn that, just like today, Elizabethan audiences wanted to be amazed by special effects: for example, magical appearances and disappearances of ghosts and devils using trapdoors hidden in the stage; or Titania, Queen of the Fairies, descending magically from the stage ceiling.

They also find out about Shakespeare’s audience – from the groundlings or penny stinkards who stood in the area called the pit, to the rich who sat in special decorated boxes.

We also find out that women didn’t act in Shakespeare’s time and that all the female parts were played by men – to find out how, Ricky is transformed into a Tudor woman!

With contributions from Michael Rosen, Farah Karim-Copper, Callum Coates and Patrick Spottiswoode.

Teacher Notes

Pupils could investigate the popular pastimes for adults and children during the Tudor period. How doe these compare to the pastimes of today?

They could choose one to have a go at.

As suggested in the clip, students could design a theatre from Shakespeare’s time and devise special effects that would excite audiences.

Curriculum Notes

This clip will be relevant for teaching English at KS2 in England and Wales, KS1/KS2 in Northern Ireland and 2nd Level in Scotland.