Shakespeare Schools Festival believes that the best way to introduce the story and world of a Shakespeare play is through a practical exploration of the text. This is a good exercise to encourage your students to work practically to discover the story themselves, giving them increased ownership and understanding of the play. We have divided Macbeth into 20 events. An event is something that happens in the play which moves the action of the plot forward. You and your students will tell the whole story of Macbeth using these key moments of change.

Using Shakespeare Schools Festival drama exercises to inspire a creative writing lesson.

This essay, written by Martin Lamb in May 2011, accompanies the Shakespeare Schools Festival 30 minute version of Macbeth for Primary Schools. An extract of this script is available via TES Resources.

This is an extract from the Shakespeare Schools Festival 30 minute version of Macbeth for Primary Schools. This script is performed in professional theatres by hundreds of schools across the UK every year as part of our Festival. The language is Shakespeare's with additional narration written by Martin Lamb. This particular extract is from the Director&'s Script, which contains additional information for the benefit of the teacher who directs the professional performance.

Our active approaches to working with Shakespeare have been developed in the playful world of the rehearsal room, where people are empowered to make creative offers and mistakes are OK. In the creative process, mistakes often lead to wonderful discoveries and unburden students of the need to find the 'right&' answer. These techniques can help the shyest of pupils to shine, the naughtiest of pupils to focus and, most importantly, make the 16th Century language sound fresh and relevent.

This video shows Shakespeare Schools Festival mark the launch of Shakespeare's 450th birthday year with an event at the Palace Theatre, Southend.