Havant Campus recently hosted the Royal Shakespeare Company for a training session in one of The Bard’s finest plays – Romeo and Juliet. The RSC is one of the most prestigious theatre companies in the UK, opening around 20 productions annually with the goal of ensuring that Shakespeare remains accessible and relevant in the modern day.
The session gave teachers from both English and Drama departments a chance to truly delve into the RSC’s methods. It was a great honour to host the RSC, who have taught similar sessions at both Alton College and South Downs Campus before coming to Havant.
With a range of practical activities that focused on the group as a whole, English and Drama teachers from seven schools across Hampshire were able to acknowledge the importance of collaboration first-hand when teaching Shakespeare. Education is an inherently social process, and this played an integral role in the foundation of the RSC’s training session at Havant.
The RSC touched on the importance of negotiation when working in groups, proposing various ways in which this can be passed on to students. Spacing, body language, and eye contact were all crucial parts of the session, with teachers being incredibly receptive to these methods.
The session was taught by a leading academic on Shakespeare, Tracy Irish, who spoke with passion about the importance of learning Shakespeare in a practical setting:
“A play is just words on a page until the actors get involved and bring them to life. It’s not like a novel, Shakespeare was a very efficient writer, focusing on language rather than description. The benefits of a session like this, with practical activities rather than sitting in a classroom, is to see Shakespeare’s language in action.”
Thorough analysis of Shakespeare’s writing was also conducted in a practical setting through the use of call-and-response, and collaborative exercises. In particular, Shakespeare’s use of iambic pentameter, a meter that features prominently in Romeo and Juliet, to mimic the heartbeats of the star-crossed lovers. This was an exceptional highlight of the day, involving eye-opening contributions from everyone involved in the training session.
The session was an outstanding success, with Assistant Principal for Havant’s Academic Curriculum Pete Budd, who attended it, saying:
“For me, the value from these sorts of sessions comes from encouraging a dynamic and exciting way of teaching Shakespeare whilst keeping it rooted in a way that develops your academic understanding of his works.”
If you are interested in studying English or Drama at HSDC, please visit:
https://www.hsdc.ac.uk/course-finder/?interest=1075
https://www.hsdc.ac.uk/courses/havant-campus/a-level/drama-theatre-studies-2/
To find out more about the RSC, please visit: