Seeing Shakespeare

Drama season

On the telly, Autumn heralds the start of several meaty drama serials to watch as the evenings draw in. They grab our attention by spinning a good story and engaging us in the lives of their characters – what will they do next, and how will it affect those around them? Bare words on a script page become living, breathing people with whom we identify.

When we study Shakespeare at A Level, all we’ve got is the bare script and we have to imagine how the characters speak and move. What is harder to grasp is how moments of tension are created and dissipated, how positioning and props speak volumes about relationships with not a word uttered.

That’s why seeing our Shakespeare ‘script’ performed on stage can really open up the play for us and make it memorable. This year’s open air performances have understandably drawn to a close, but there are still lots of opportunities to see your set text come to life.

If you don’t already know, check out with your teacher which Shakespeare play(s) you will be covering and see from the list below if you can access a performance near you, either with your class or independently. I hope you enjoy it!

Antony and Cleopatra (OCR)

• Chichester Festival Theatre Company. Chichester, 7 – 29 September (01243 781312) www.cft.org.uk

Coriolanus (CIE, Cambs Pre U)

Adaptation

• I am England by David Lane. The Egg YPT, Bath, 22 – 24 November (01225 448844) www.theatreroyal.org.uk.

Hamlet (AQA, OCR)

• Nuworks Theatre, United Reformed Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. 6 October (01789 403416) www.thebearpit.org.uk

Adaptations:

• Hamlet: The Undiscovered Country by Stash Kirkbride and Peter Beck. 30 October – 3 November (01603 218323) www.hostryfestival.org
• Humble Boy by Charlotte Jones. Swavesey Revue and Drama Society. Swavesey Venue, 11 – 13 October, (07504 552 870). www.swaveseyradsoc.org
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. Progress Theatre, Reading, 15 – 20 October. www.progresstheatre.co.uk

King Lear (AQA, Cambs Pre U, OCR)

• Almeida Theatre, London, 31 August – 3 November 2012 (020 7359 4404)
• Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, Lincoln, 29 November (0844 888 4414) www.lpac.co.uk

Adaptation

• RSC King Lear: Young People’s Shakespeare by Tim Crouch. Hull Truck Theatre, Hull, 4 – 6 October (01482 323 638); Theatre Royal, York, 23 - 24 November (01904 623 568). www.rsc.org.uk

Macbeth (AQA)

• Crucible Theatre (Studio), Sheffield, 5 September – 6 October (0114 249 6000). www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk.
• Lodestar Theatre Company. Royal Court, Liverpool, 21 September – 13 October (0870 787 1866). www.royalcourtliverpool.co.uk
• Lyric Belfast, Northern Bank Stage, Belfast, 21 October – 24 November (028 9038 1081). www.lyrictheatre.co.uk
• Worcester Repertory Company, Shakespeare at the Cathedral. Worcester Cathedral Gardens, Worcester, 24 – 27 October; Malvern Priory, Worcester, 2 – 3 November. http://www.worcesterlive.co.uk/shakespeare.asp
• Derby Shakespeare Theatre Company. Directed by Clare Snape. Derby Theatre, 9 – 13 October (no phone). www.derbyshakespeare.org.uk

Adaptation

• Baz Productions. The Crypt, St Andrew’s Church, Holborn Viaduct, London, 18 October – 5 November (no phone). www.bazproductions.co.uk

A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CIE, OCR)

• The Movement. Courtyard Theatre, London, 19 – 30 September (0870 163 0717). http://www.thecourtyard.org.uk/whatson/255/midsummer-nights-dream
• Lodestar Theatre Company. Royal Court, Liverpool, 21 September – 13 October (0870 787 1866). www.royalcourtliverpool.co.uk.
• Mappa Mundi & Torch Theatre, Milford Haven, 3 – 20 October (01646 695 267). www.mappa-mundi.org.uk
• Wanstead Players, Kenneth More Theatre, Ilford, 11 – 13 October (020 8553 4466). www.wansteadplayers.org.uk
• Michael Grandage Company, Noel Coward Theatre, London, 7 September 2013 – 16 November 2013 (0870 850 9175) www.michaelgrandagecompany.com
• Nuworks Theatre, United Reformed Church, Stratford-upon-Avon. 6 October (01789 403416) www.thebearpit.org.uk/

Othello (Edexcel)

• York Shakespeare Project, Theatre Royal Studio, York, 23 – 27 October (01904 623568). www.yorktheatreroyal.co.uk
• Queen Mary’s College. The Watermill Theatre and Rose Theatre, Kingston. 26 October. (01256 418318). http://www.centralstudio.co.uk/
• Fluellen Theatre Company. The Grand Theatre Arts Wing, Swansea, 6 – 9 November (01792 368269). www.fluellentheatre.co.uk

Adaptation

• The Watermill & The Rose Theatre Kingston. Adapted & Directed by Beth Flintoff. The Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, 5 – 9 November (01635 46044). www.watermill.org.uk

Richard III (CIE)

• Shakespeare’s Globe Company, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, 14 July – 13 October (020 7401 9919). Apollo Theatre, West End, 2 November – 3 February 2013 (0870 890 1101) www.shakespeares-globe.org
• Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory. Directed by Andrew Hilton. Tobacco Factory, Bristol, 14 February – 30 March 2013 (0117 902 0344). www.sattf.org.uk

The Tempest (Cambs Pre U, OCR)

• RSC, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 13 July - 7 October (0844 8001110). www.rsc.org.uk, www.roundhouse.org.uk.
• Watermill Theatre, Bagnor, 27 September – 3 November (01635 46044). www.watermill.org.uk

The Winter’s Tale (CIE)

• Amateur Players of Sherborne, Digby Hall, Sherborne, 22 – 24 November (tickets available in November). www.aps-sherborne.co.uk

Adaptation

• A Winter’s Tale. Unicorn Theatre, London, 19 September – 16 November (020 7645 0500). http://unicorntheatre.com