Year 7-11 Shakespeare Incursion

No one is more iconic and well-recognised in English literature than Shakespeare. His genius with language, character, and ideas have remained with us over the 400+ years since he lived and wrote. At the same time, it’s no secret that Shakespeare can be challenging. While Shakespeare’s English is considered to be ‘modern,’ it certainly can feel like a foreign language! 

As a way to begin and expand our secondary students’ familiarity with Shakespeare, Christway College hosted the Bell Shakespeare Players for an afternoon excursion at the beginning of term 3. Students in Year 7-11 experienced the liveliness of Shakespeare’s language and plots, and a few were pulled into the action themselves as the Players asked for volunteers to perform with them. From Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to Macbeth and Hamlet the Players offered a taster of some of Shakespeare’s most well-known and engaging scenes and characters. Judging from the audience response, “Act 4: Ways to Die in Shakespeare” was the favourite. Stabbed, poisoned, bit by a snake, buried to the neck and starved, baked into a pie—Shakespeare was nothing if not creative! 

Laura Cerbus

English Teacher