Join us in celebrating The RSC and wishing Happy Birthday Shakespeare.

Together with the RSC we’ve gathered some ideas of how you and your family can celebrate Shakespeare’s Birthday at home.

Watch the highlights from the gigantic global celebration for Shakespeare’s Birthday, #ShareYourShakespeare.

Read about the Blackpool Grand Associate Schools Programme.

Many of us are facing a long period of time at home, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but we can still share the joy of theatre and Shakespeare with each other.

Happy Birthday Shakespeare – All the ways you can enjoy the great bard

Watch RSC shows on Marquee TV

Arts lovers and students can now sign up to Marquee TV, the performing arts streaming service with a catalogue of more than 400 dance, opera and theatre productions.

The RSC have 18 of their shows available through the service, including Hamlet (pictured below), Richard II with David Tennant, and King Lear with Antony Sher.

Watch Now – Shakespeare on Marquee TV

Live lesson

Go behind the scenes and see how RSC actors approach the text of Macbeth with their free online lesson, streamed on YouTube from 11am – 12pm on Tuesday 28 April 2020. Recorded in 2018, this Live Lesson focuses on the character of Lady Macbeth and will give students a greater understanding of the plot, and character choices. Suitable for KS2 – KS4.

Prepare for the Live Lesson with;

• a context film about the play during Shakespeare’s time,
• a video breaking down the plot of Macbeth and,
• an activity-filled Live Lesson Preperation Pack.

Tweet your Macbeth questions using #RSCMacbeth before 12pm on Tuesday 28 April and @RSC_Education will share the actors’ answers. Be sure to check #RSCMacbeth in the afternoon!

Head over to RSC Home Learning

Also take advantage of the RSC’s Shakespeare Zone on Macbeth.

All of the information you need about the play is divided into four sections: Story, Characters, Language and Staging.

Each section has three different levels of information. Choose which level is right for you or simply move between them to find what you need. Here’s a quick guide to help you get started with Macbeth;

Start with level 1 to find:

• In STORY: A simple overview of the story
• In CHARACTERS: Basic character descriptions
• In LANGUAGE: Key language terms
• In STAGING: Facts about the settings

MOve on to level 2 to find:

• In STORY: A timeline of the play
• In CHARACTERS: A character map exploring relationships
• In LANGUAGE: Key Scenes with videos
• In STAGING: Pictures of RSC performances

Finish with level 3 to find:

• In STORY: Detailed scene-by-scene descriptions
• In CHARACTERS: PEE grids on central characters
• In LANGUAGE: Detailed breakdowns of themes and imagery
• In STAGING: Information about performing the play yourself

See RSC plays on BBC iPlayer

The RSC have partnered with the BBC to bring audiences six of our shows between now and September, as part of their Culture in Quarantine initiative. All six are now available on iPlayer, share them and say Happy BIrthday Shakespeare.

They include recent productions of Macbeth, with Christopher Eccleston in the title role, and Romeo and Juliet. There are also activities and resources made available to support young people and students as they watch the plays.

Watch Now – Shakespeare on iPlayer

Share Your Shakespeare – get involved

Perform a speech, paint a picture or bake a cake – join the largest ever celebration of Shakespeare by audiences in our history.

Learn more about #ShareYourShakespeare

Explore RSC learning resources

Dive into the Shakespeare Learning Zone, go behind the scenes and see how actors approach the plays with RSC Live Lessons and watch videos exploring key moments and relationships from Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Shakespeare Unlocked.

Discover RSC Home Learning

Discover more about the RSC on YouTube

Subscribe to the RSC YouTube channel to explore our huge range of videos, including scenes from our shows, interviews with actors and creatives, and behind-the-scenes insights into how our productions make it to the stage.

Watch Now – Shakespeare on YouTube

Keep busy with Shakespeare family activities

Activities for children from ages 2, 4, 6, 8 and above, from warming up your body to telling a story and making a bear for The Winter’s Tale. Free activity sheets, films and crafts inspired by Shakespeare.e it to the stage.

Each activity has a recommended age as a guide.You will also find ways to adapt some of the tasks if you’d like to give it a go with someone younger or a child with additional needs.

If you don’t know the story of The Winter’s Tale you can read a short version of it (Download the PDF of The Winter’s Tale). Why not draw some pictures alongside the story to help you remember it?

Family Activities – The Winter’s Take

Discover Shakespeare

Find out more about the life and times of William Shakespeare himself, and delve into our past productions of his plays with plot synopses, photos and video.

Discover More About Shakespeare

Always wanted to see behind the RSC – Take a Virtual Tour

Download Google Classrooms and explore the Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s backstage areas as part of a virtual interactive tour.

Evan More Teacher or Home Schooling  Resources

Lots of our activities and teacher packs can be found in the RSC resource bank and adapted for use outside of school.

Creative Writing

The RSC an interactive section on the Matilda The Musical website to help you create your own scenes and stories.

Blackpool Associate School Programme with the RSC wish Happy Birthday Shakespeare!

Blackpool Grand has worked in partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) since 2012 on a Learning and Performance Network and Associate Schools Programme. This national partnership has co-created local and national opportunities for over 30 schools, 100 teachers, and for nearly 10,000 local children and young people.

Regular high-quality teacher training takes place in Blackpool and Stratford that builds skills around Creative and Active approaches to English and brings rehearsal room practice into the classroom. Thanks to Blackpool’s Grand and The RSC five local teachers have gained a Post Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of Shakespeare using creative and active approaches.

The theatre co-produces an annual Schools Shakespeare Festival with Lead Associate School, Our Lady of the Assumption RC Primary, and the Young Shakespeare Council. In addition, more than 200 young people get the chance to perform on The RSC’s own stage in Stratford-upon Avon in their national Shakespeare Schools Festival.

Shakespeare Nation Programme with Royal Shakespeare Company building new audiences and working with the local community is something Blackpool’s Grand has been committed to for many years. The Theatre was delighted to be invited to be part of a new national programme that involves working with The RSC and community partners to encourage new adult audiences for Shakespeare.

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.

Images copyright @RSC

The RSC Acting Companies are generously supported by The Gatsby Charitable Foundation and The Kovner Foundation

The work of the RSC Education Department is generously supported by Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Adobe, GRoW @ Annenberg, The Allan and Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, The Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation, Samsung, The Schroder Foundation, The Polonsky Foundation, The Goldsmiths’ Company Charity, The Ernest Cook Trust, Teale Charitable Trust, The Grimmitt Trust, TAK Advisory Limited and Stratford Town Trust