Conquer Shakespeare Homework – Needing help with your child’s Shakespeare homework? Don’t worry Blackpool Grand and The RSC have you covered!

As lockdown continues and RSC theatres remain closed, Blackpool Grand Theatre and The RSC wanted to let you know about some new initiatives from RSC Education that might be of use during this difficult time:

Conquer Shakespeare Homework with help from the RSC

Artists from the Royal Shakespeare Company, who are currently unable to rehearse or perform, will lend a hand in helping to unlock Shakespeare for thousands of children and young people studying at home. A host of RSC actors past and present have volunteered to share their tips and answer questions about Shakespeare and drama studies as part of the RSC’s new Homework Help initiative.

Students across the country (and especially from Blackpool Grand Theatre Associate School partners) are invited to pose their questions to a team of RSC actors by Sunday 10 May 2020. The actors taking part and answering homework questions include Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, David Bradley, Paapa Essiedu, Niamh Cusack, Charlotte Arrowsmith and Noma Dumezweni.

Questions can be sent in two ways:

1. By email to homeworkhelp@thersc.org.uk. Please put ‘from Associate School(s)’ in the subject line, so we can easily identify you.
2. Via Twitter or Instagram using the hashtags #RSCHomeworkHelp and #AssociateSchools.

The actors will then respond to the students’ questions through a mixture of written and video responses which will all shared on the RSC website from 11 May 2020.

During that week, the RSC will also be leading a series of lessons as part of the BBC’s Bitesize home-schooling programme (see below for more info).

Other new initiatives from the RSC

We are also continuing to provide support to everyone getting to grips with home-schooling and remote learning.

• Live Lesson: On 28 April the RSC will host a Live Lesson on Macbeth on YouTube between 11am-12pm. Students, teachers and parents will ‘go behind the scenes’ of the 2018 production directed by Polly Findlay and starring Chris Eccleston and Niamh Cusack as Lord and Lady Macbeth.  The lesson is suitable for KS2 – KS4 and will be accompanied by a supporting Q & A with actor Niamh Cusack and Assistant Director Peter Bradley, focusing on key speeches from Act 1, Scene 5 and the role of Lady Macbeth. After the lesson, RSC actors Joseph Arkley, Edward Bennett, Niamh Cusack and Laura Elsworthy will also be on hand to answer any questions pupils may have about the play and performing at the RSC. Learn more about the play Macbeth.
• Activity toolkits: Whether trying Shakespeare for the first time or looking for ways to extend your learning, the RSC’s brand new Activity Toolkits are the perfect way to unlock Shakespeare. The toolkits focus around six of Shakespeare’s best-known plays. The first three, exploring Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet are freely available now by clicking here.  Othello, Much Ado About Nothing and The Merchant of Venice will follow in the coming weeks. Each kit contains twenty x 15 minute exercises designed which can be done on their own or all together.
• BBC Bitesize: Following the launch of BBC Bitesize’s daily programme of online lessons, the RSC is working in partnership with the BBC to deliver two-focused weeks of GCSE lesson plans themed around Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. The first Shakespeare week will take place between Monday 11 – Friday 15 May with the second week starting on Monday 15 – Friday 19 June. The weeks will involve daily Shakespeare lessons developed by the RSC for Year 10 students to help unlock Shakespeare’s work and language and provide special insights from RSC actors and directors about how to decode Shakespeare’s language and bring the plays to life for today’s audiences.
• Culture in Quarantine. The RSC has also teamed up with the BBC as part of its ‘Culture in Quarantine’ programme. Six RSC productions (chosen to link to the school curriculum and supported by the Activity Toolkits) are now available to view for free on the BBC’s iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/group/p08b0ct7 The plays include Hamlet (2016, directed by Simon Godwin, with Paapa Essiedu in the title role); Macbeth (2018, directed by Polly Findlay, with Christopher Ecclestone in the title role and Niamh Cusack as Lady Macbeth); Much Ado About Nothing (2014, directed by Christopher Luscombe, with Edward Bennett as Benedick and Michelle Terry as Beatrice); Othello (2015, directed by Iqbal Khan, with Hugh Quarshie in the title role and Lucian Msamati as Iago); Romeo and Juliet (2018, directed by Erica Whyman, RSC Deputy Artistic Director, with Bally Gill as Romeo and Karen Fishwick as Juliet); and The Merchant of Venice (2015, directed by Polly Findlay, with Makram J. Khoury as Shylock).

Existing resources

Alongside these are our existing resources that can be used to support home learning including:

• The Shakespeare Learning Zone.
• A selection of educational videos on the RSC’s YouTube channel including introductions to language terms such as iambic pentameter, actor-lead tutorials exploring the techniques they use to get to grips with a text and full online performances including Tim Crouch’s I, Cinna.
• A range of supporting resources for teachers free to download from the RSC website including teacher packs by play and Key Stage.
• Students and schools/colleges can also take advantage of an extended trial of Drama Online before the end of May 2020, featuring twenty-two titles from The RSC Live Collection. Home-educators can also access up to seventeen RSC productions in partnership with Digital Theatre + alongside supporting resources including backstage insights, practitioner interviews, written analysis and over 450+ productions of the world’s finest theatre.

We hope these resources will help teachers and parents home schooling at the moment to Conquer Shakespeare Homework. A fantastic offer from the RSC we are sure you’ll agree!

During this time, more than ever before please do join the RSC and #ShareYourShakespeare.

All part of the Grand Thetare #athomewithyou programme.

Blackpool Grand

Take a look at what’s on at Blackpool Grand Theatre this Autumn / Winter 20/21

Blackpool Grand set out a COVID-Community Communication Programme (CCCP) during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our aims were simple, to CONNECT, COMFORT and UPLIFT. We would Connect people by offering tutorials on communication tools like Zoom and conduct community face-to-face meetings (book readings, youth groups and more). Comfort through stories of heritage, memories and storytelling, and to Uplift visitors spirits through laughter and exercise. Please do enjoy and if you can afford to donate please do.

The information in this story is accurate as of the publication date. While we are attempting to keep our content as up-to-date as possible, the situation surrounding the coronavirus pandemic continues to develop rapidly, so it’s possible that some information and recommendations may have changed since publishing. For any concerns and latest advice around COVID-19, visit the World Health Organisation. If you’re in the UK, the National Health Service can also provide useful information and support, while US users can contact the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Main image: Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth at Royal Shakespeare theatre. Photograph: Richard Davenport/The Other Richard (C) The RSC