Helen Mirren, Ian McKellen and Adjoa Andoh join leading actors to bring Shakespeare to a new generation

The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and Foyle Foundation joined by leading actors, launched the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum, a revolutionary new way of studying Shakespeare using the latest learning technology and innovation. 

The Shakespeare Curriculum is the most important development in the teaching of Shakespeare in a generation and will radically change how Shakespeare is studied and taught in secondary schools across the UK and around the world. It responds to ongoing concerns from teachers and young people about the way in which Shakespeare is experienced by many in school, with the aim for 80% of all UK secondary schools to use the Shakespeare Curriculum by the academic year 2029/30.

The first resource of its kind and free to use for all state and SEND secondary schools, it distils the RSC’s award-winning teaching approaches into a digital platform that has everything teachers and students need to teach and learn about Shakespeare, immersing them in the creative world of an RSC rehearsal room. Grounded in the techniques used by actors and directors, the Shakespeare Curriculum takes students beyond their desks, unlocking language, character and themes and fostering vital skills for school, life and work.  The RSC Shakespeare Curriculum has been created with major investment from the Foyle Foundation as one of the key projects recently announced for the long-term legacy of the foundation.

David Hall, Chief Executive of the Foyle Foundation, said:

‘Our relationship with the RSC has extended over a period of more than twenty years, culminating in the development of the Shakespeare Curriculum. We are immensely proud that this will be a legacy for future generations of the work we have done together and honoured to be able to play a part in supporting the extraordinary achievements of the RSC.’

Ian McKellen, added:

‘Actors, better than other Shakespeare lovers, know how difficult it is to transform his words on the page into living, breathing characters on the stage where they belong.

To expect schoolchildren to grapple with such problems may well put them off Shakespeare for life. Ever since I was at school, reading a troublesome text around the classroom, I have wondered how professional theatre people might help English teachers who too often feel inadequate to the task. Now the Royal Shakespeare Company has come up with an answer, a practical way for teachers to lead students to an appreciation of the plays, not just as written texts but as a starting place to explore the excitement of live theatre.

‘A revolution is in the offing. “The play’s the thing…!” ’

Approximately 2 million young people in the UK study Shakespeare in any given year. From a 2012 study by the RSC and British Council, approximately 50% of school children in the world study Shakespeare and his plays each year. The Shakespeare Curriculum turns Shakespeare’s 10 most studied plays into a 24-part creative learning adventure, bringing the RSC’s unique blend of theatre practice, research and digital innovation into schools. Drawing on thousands of unique archive resources, and decades of world-renowned productions featuring leading actors in defining performances, it will put young people in control of their Shakespeare learning.

Launching the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum, Jacqui O’Hanlon, RSC Director of Creative Learning, said:

‘The RSC has worked with thousands of teachers and young people over 20 years and we understand the challenges of teaching and learning about plays that were written over 400 years ago. The Shakespeare Curriculum responds to this challenge. 

‘Research shows that the combination of Shakespeare’s language and RSC teaching approaches improve young people’s academic, social and emotional development. As well as improved language development, writing and oracy skills, this work improves communication, self-belief and well-being and develops creative problem-solving skills. Through the RSC Shakespeare Curriculum, all state secondary and SEND schools will have free access to this transformational way of teaching and learning about Shakespeare’s plays’.

The platform uses the rehearsal process as the framework for teaching and learning and creates opportunities for young people to experience first-hand some of the creative decisions made by actors, directors and creative teams working in theatre. The Shakespeare Curriculum has been developed in collaboration with Charanga, a specialist provider of digital platforms and technology for music and arts education.

Helen Mirren, RSC Honorary Associate Artist, added:

‘Rehearsal rooms are places where we explore possibilities; where we look at a play written 400 years ago as if it was new, with the ink still wet on the page. In a rehearsal room we are questioning, experimenting and bringing our own experiences and interpretations to Shakespeare’s stories.

‘That spirit of collaboration and creative enquiry sits at the very heart of the RSC’s new Shakespeare Curriculum: bringing the energy of the rehearsal room into secondary schools across the country, turning classrooms into places where inquiry, co-operation and creativity flourish’. 

Adjoa Andoh, RSC Associate Artist, commented:

‘If you have found Shakespeare boring or confusing or not relevant, if you have been made to feel like you’re not smart enough, or you can’t concentrate enough, or people don’t think you’re worth bothering with, that’s other people’s fault not yours – with the Shakespeare Curriculum all this is about to change. It is about giving you the chance to get up on your feet and deep dive into the crazy, heartbreaking hilarious, thrilling world of Shakespeare’s stories – stories you will recognise as things you have experienced in your own lives, as things that are happening in the world around you today, and you’ll feel it, you’ll understand it and you’ll get to live it out in rehearsals.

‘Shakespeare is relevant yesterday, today and tomorrow – and yours for the taking. Come join us, breathe out, dive in – Shakespeare can change your life – he did mine!’ 

Arts Minister, Ian Murray said: ‘All the world’s a stage, and all children can be players!

Learning with Shakespeare is a perfect way for young people to build confidence and language skills, and I’m thrilled to see the RSC supporting pupils across the country with this programme.

‘I want theatre and the arts to be accessible to every child, all across the UK, and this is a

wonderful step towards that.’ 

 The RSC Shakespeare Curriculum is now live here…