The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford upon Avon and shared around the world. We place a special emphasis on sharing Shakespeare’s work with children and young people. We believe that young people get the most out of Shakespeare’s plays when they see them performed live and actively explore the text ‘on their feet’. This means speaking the words out-loud and bringing tried and tested RSC rehearsal room approaches into the classroom through our resources.
The Royal Shakespeare Company creates theatre at its best, made in Stratford upon Avon and shared around the world. We place a special emphasis on sharing Shakespeare’s work with children and young people. We believe that young people get the most out of Shakespeare’s plays when they see them performed live and actively explore the text ‘on their feet’. This means speaking the words out-loud and bringing tried and tested RSC rehearsal room approaches into the classroom through our resources.
This printable resource is designed as a reference guide for teachers. We have listed the major themes and motifs within Romeo and Juliet and provided examples of scenes where you can study them. Suitable across the Key Stages.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
Explanation of how Shakespeare's language works, with descriptions of the major tools of his art. This document is designed as a resource for teachers which can be adapted to use with your students.
This pack supports the RSC’s 2011 production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by Rupert Goold.
The activities provided are specifically designed to support KS3-5 students studying or seeing
the play (but can be adapted for other ages), offering a deeper insight into the choices that can be explored through staging. The pack is divided up into 7 distinct sections designed to help you to plan your lessons: Making a start; Introducing Bassanio and Antonio; Exploring Belmont; Shylock and public bullying; Exchanging the rings; A wider context and Interview with Tom Scutt. There are activities within each section which follow the RSC's active approach to learning about Shakespeare and are driven and guided by our rehearsal room practice. The pack also contains text based resources and key speeches from the play.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
These free, downloadable teaching notes are created for teachers and leaders wishing to introduce their group to Hamlet by William Shakespeare. The activities were created directly from experience in Gregory Doran's rehearsal room.
They have been designed for KS3 to KS5 students, but can be adapted for other ages. Activities explore:
- The opening
- Polonius' family
- Rosencratz and Guildenstern
- The Players
- The graveyard
- Osric
- Should Hamlet fight?
In this pack, we’ll be using a variety of different sources to bring the creative process to life for you and your students: Roald Dahl’s novel of Matilda; the script and songs from the RSC’s latest production Matilda, A Musical written by Dennis Kelly and Tim Minchin respectively; notes taken in Director Matthew Warchus’ rehearsal room as the production was brought to life onstage; insights and exercises from our Literary department plus our general practice with Shakespeare.
This printable worksheet or handout contains an engaging synopsis of The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare for students and teachers, created by writer Rebecca Lenkiewicz.
This pack supports the RSC and Little Angel Theatre 2010 production of The Tempest, directed by Peter Glanville.
The activities provided are specifically designed to support Key Stage Two and Lower Key Stage Three but can be adapted for older or younger pupils studying or seeing the play. The pack is divided up into 5 distinct sections designed to help you to plan your lessons: Background and the story; Back-story; The island; Caliban and Ariel. There are activities within each section which follow the RSC's active approach to learning about Shakespeare and are driven and guided by our rehearsal room practice. The production used puppetry and there are activities based around making your own puppets.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
This pack supports the RSC’s 2011 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Nancy Meckler.
The activities provided are specifically designed to support KS3 students (but can be adapted for other ages) studying or seeing the play, offering a deeper insight into the choices that can be explored through staging. The pack is divided up into 5 distinct sections designed to help you to plan your lessons: Exploring Power Games; Investigating the characters; Exploring theatre choices; Understanding the play’s structure; Interview with Nancy Meckler (Director) and a Pippa Nixon Interview Transcript (Hippolyta/Titania). Activities follow the RSC's active approach to learning about Shakespeare and are driven and guided by our rehearsal room practice.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
This printable Shakespeare teaching resource allows teachers and students to read the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare in plain English. Suitable for Key Stage 2 onwards.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
This printable Shakespeare resource is designed as a reference guide for teachers. We have listed the major themes and motifs within Macbeth and provided examples of scenes where you can study them. This resource can be used across the Key Stages.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
This printable information resource on Hamlet by William Shakespeare is brought to you by the RSC. Print it for your class to gain vital insight into the rehearsal process.
The famous tragedy of Hamlet was brought to life for many audience members new to Shakespeare by director Gregory Doran's clear storytelling and familiar modern setting. For the show's programme, the Hamlet company created a Rehearsal Scrapbook detailing the different stages of production.
This pack supports the RSC’s 2011 production of Macbeth, directed by Michael Boyd.
The activities provided are specifically designed to support KS3-4 students (but can be adapted for younger students) studying or seeing the play, offering a deeper insight into the choices that can be explored through staging. The pack explores a variety of activities based around themes and these are designed to help you to plan your lessons: Activities explore: Macbeth's ambition; Malcolm, Banquo and Fleance; Macduff and his family; Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and What is it to be a man?
Activities follow the RSC's active approach to learning about Shakespeare and are driven and guided by our rehearsal room practice. The pack also contains text based resources and key speeches from the play.
The activities in this free Shakespeare teachers' pack are inspired by the rehearsal room process for a production of Hamlet. They have been designed with KS2 and KS3 students in mind, but can be adapted for other ages. Activities include:
- Creating a musical character
- Exploring the ghost story
- Using everyday objects as props
- Hamlet's relationship with Horatio
Based on the Young People&'s Shakespeare Hamlet directed by Tarell Alvin McCraney.
This pack supports the RSC’s 2006 production of Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Marianne Elliott.
The activities provided are specifically designed to support KS2-4 students studying or seeing
the play, offering a deeper insight into the choices that can be explored through staging. The pack is divided up into 2 distinct sections designed to help you to plan your lessons:Ensemble approaches for exploring character
and Creating a gossip circle. There are activities within each section which follow the RSC's active approach to learning about Shakespeare and are driven and guided by our rehearsal room practice.The pack also contains text based resources and key speeches from the play.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
These notes are created for teachers and leaders wishing to introduce their group to Hamlet and in particular the RSC's 2008 production directed by Gregory Doran. The activities provided are specifically designed to support Key Stage 3-5 students, irrespective of whether they are attending a performance, watching it on video or studying the play in school.
The pack is divided up into 11 distinct sections designed to help you to plan your lessons: Creating Hamlet's friends; Adding detail to Hamlet's friends; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; Edited scene (Act 2 Scene 2)
Edited scene (Act 3 Scene 2); Creating a contemporary Hamlet; Exploring To be or not to be;
Edited scene (Act 2 Scene 2) ; Creating Osric; Should Hamlet fight? and Edited scene (Act 5 Scene 2).
The activities created in this pack follow directly from RSC rehearsal room practice.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
Author Lucy Hughes-Hallett discusses the queen known for her 'infinite variety'. This printable article can be used as a teaching resource in exploring the character and characterisation of Cleopatra both as a woman and as a leader . It first appeared in the show programme for the RSC's 2006 production of Antony and Cleopatra. Suitable for Key Stage 4 onwards.
Find more of our resources on our website: www.rsc.org.uk/education/teacher-resources
This free printable resource is designed as a reference guide for teachers. We have listed the major themes and motifs within The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare and provided examples of scenes where you can study them.
Printable worksheet handouts with a brief story of Shakespeare's life, combining fact with theory. Follow him from his birth through his school years, early marriage, the theatre years in London to his return home to Stratford. This document is designed as a resource for teachers which can be adapted to use with your students.
This printable worksheet & information pack responds to ideas directly from the RSC rehearsal room and suggests activities that you might use with your students in the classroom when studying Richard III by William Shakespeare.
Richard III, directed for the RSC by Roxana Silbert, is part of the 2012 World Shakespeare Festival.
Roxana é Ti Green, the production designer, were keen to explore the dynamic of private conversations taking place in public on the streets of London.
This pack has been designed to support the RSC’s 2014 First Encounter Production of The Taming of the Shrew, edited and directed by Michael Fentiman. The RSC’s First Encounter series for young audiences aims to give children and young people a vivid, accessible and enjoyable first experience of Shakespeare’s work. These specially edited productions are created to provide a great first introduction to Shakespeare’s plays for new audiences and sow the seeds for a life-long relationship with them.
The activities provided are specifically designed to support Key Stage 3-4 students, irrespective of whether they are attending a performance, watching it on video or studying the play in school.
The pack is divided up into 8 distinct sections designed to help you to plan your lessons: The Story Page;
Q&A with the Director; Storyboard; Creating Characters; The Minola Girls; The Battle for Bianca; Creating the World and Resource Materials. There are activities within each section which follow the RSC's active approach to learning about Shakespeare and are driven and guided by our rehearsal room practice. The pack also contains text based resources and key speeches from the play.