Spring Term updates from Shakesperae's Globe

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[IMAGE] A view of the Globe Theatre through the iron work of the Groundling Gates on a sunny day.

Photo: Clive Sherlock

"As gardeners do with ordure hide those roots that shall first spring and be most delicate."

Welcome back! 

We hope you had a relaxing February half term and, as you return to the classroom, we wanted to remind you that Shakespeare’s Globe is committed to supporting your teaching online and within the classroom.

In this edition, we have films of former productions that can be viewed online: Macbeth and Emilia. To celebrate LGBT History Month, we've made a special informative and engaging episode of our podcast, Such Stuff; former pupils at a South-East London secondary school, explore the impact that schooling had on their sense of identity, wellbeing and acceptance as LGBTQ+ young people.

Our resource focus this month looks at actors on stage and gender expectations in the Elizabethan era, targeting Assessment Objective 3 for GCSE English Literature. If you want to delve deeper, then book onto our inspiring online CPDs coming up in March and April which will help you make Shakespeare relevant and exciting across all key stages of the curriculum.

Finally, don’t forget to take advantage of our special offer on Virtual Workshops, where you can 'zoom' a Globe Education Practitioner into your class to give a practical and lively Shakespeare workshop to your learners.

Keep safe, we hope you enjoy this newsletter and please do contact us with any comments, feedback or suggestions for additional ways we can help. 

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In this edition:

💻 Online training and workshops.
🎧 Podcast: LGBTQ History Month.
📄 Resource Focus: Actors Fact Sheet.
📢 In Brief: Macbeth video, Emilia, and new courses for students.

Current CPD Programme.

[IMAGE] Three teachers participating in a CPD workshop holding scripts

Through March and April our popular Continuing Professional Development sessions for teachers are running online. The current programme includes workshops for:

  • Primary teachers on using Shakespeare's stories in the classroom;
  • Secondary teachers focussing on teaching Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet;
  • Teaching Anti-Racist Shakepeare drawing on themes from Othello and The Merchant of Venice.  

Virtual Workshops Special Offer.

[IMAGE] Highly engaged students in a workshop exercise involving physical gesture.

Our 60-minute Virtual Workshops are designed to fit in with your teaching timetable and requirements while we all continue to work with restrictions. 

A Globe Education Practitioner can remotely lead a workshop with your students to bring to life a Shakespeare play of your choice through engaging and lively active learning. Suitable for any year group, we currently have a special offer of just £200 for a workshop delivered to up to 35 students or £300 for 70 students.  

Podcast: LGBTQ History Month.

[IMAGE] Two boys playing female roles in a production of Galatea.
As part of our celebrations for LGBTQ+ History Month, Head of Learning and former drama teacher, Lucy Cuthbertson, heads up a podcast looking into the importance of creating a positive environment in schools for LGBTQ+ students and staff.

Lucy speaks to eight former students and Dr Elly Barnes (founder of charity Educate and Celebrate) to discuss why roles models in schools and representation in the curriculum matter so much.

Resource Focus: Actors Fact Sheet.

[IMAGE] The Mechanicals from the Globe's 2014 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream

On our Teach Shakespeare website you will find hundreds of resources, including lesson plans, exclusive content and fact sheets like this one about who became an actor in Shakespeare's day.

This resource will help develop insight regarding the aims of Assessment Objective 3, showing understanding of texts and contexts which they were written

Here are some questions that you could ask students based on this resource:

  • Why was acting a male dominated profession in the Elizabethan era? What were the expectations of women?
  • Are these expectations reflected or challenged in the play you are studying?
  • Would a modern audience find this idea acceptable? Explain your answer.
  • What do you think of an all-female production? You could link this to showing clips of the play Emilia, which is currently available to stream, and discussing what impact the writer was trying to have on a modern audience by having an all-female cast.
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Macbeth free video stream.

The film of our 2020 production of Macbeth is available exclusively for teachers to use with their students until 23 July. Register to receive your free download link. There are also lots of resources available to support your teaching.

Emilia is back!

The award-winning Emilia is back online this month to celebrate International Women's Day. Described as 'heartfelt and pleasing' (The Times), this is the too rarely told story of the poet Emilia Bassano, rumoured to be the Dark Lady of Shakespeare's sonnets.

New! Shakespeare Boost.

In April we will be launching our Shakespeare Boost study sessions. Costing from £5, these are perfect for students currently working towards their GCSEs and A Levels. There are workshops covering Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet.

For students: Short Courses.

During the Easter holiday we will be running a series of inspiring interactive, online short courses for children aged 8 – 19 years old. There are acting courses designed for anyone with a passion for performing as well as a course for young people aged 16 – 19 years keen to pursue further studies in English Literature.