Shakespeare workshops
Shakespeare to come alive for primary pupils
All the world will be a stage next week for primary pupils from five schools in Edinburgh and East Lothian who are taking part in drama workshops that will give them a fun introduction to Shakespeare's stories and characters.
The 90-minute workshops have been organised by the National Library of Scotland (NLS) which has a major Shakespeare exhibition running at the moment. 'Beyond Macbeth' tells a little-known story of how Shakespeare has been seen from Scotland down the centuries.
The workshops are being held at the Library on George 1V Bridge in Edinburgh and will give the primary six and seven pupils a chance to learn more about Shakespeare by speaking his words and sharing his stories.
They will be run by Tag, which produces all the Glasgow Citizens Theatre's work for children and young people, and will focus on key scenes from Shakespeare such as the witches' scene from 'Macbeth'.
'We will be running nine workshops across the week which will involve around 270 pupils from five schools. This is a really engaging way of introducing young people to the world of Shakespeare and we hope they get a lot from the sessions,' said Beverley Casebow, the Learning Officer at NLS who has organised the programme.
NLS has added Shakespeare material to its Learning zone which provides schools across Scotland with a wealth of online learning materials. It has been specially developed to support school students and adult learners in making the most of the Library's huge bank of knowledge. The Learning zone's Shakespeare information is available at 'Getting started with Shakespeare'.
The workshop programme
| Monday 12 March | 10.30–12.00: Cockenzie Primary School, East Lothian |
13.00–14.30: Yester Primary School, Gifford, East Lothian |
| Tuesday 13 March | 10.30–12.00: Longniddry Primary School, East Lothian |
13.00–14.30: Musselburgh Burgh Primary School, East Lothian |
| Wednesday 14 March | 10.30–12.00: Musselburgh Burgh Primary School, East Lothian |
13.00–14.30: Towerbank Primary School, Edinburgh |
| Thursday 15 March | 10.30–12.00: Cockenzie Primary School, East Lothian |
13.00–14.30: Musselburgh Burgh Primary School |
| Friday 16 March | 10.30–12.00: Towerbank Primary School, Edinburgh |
The 'Beyond Macbeth' exhibition gives visitors the rare opportunity to see some of the earliest surviving examples of Shakespeare's works. This includes a copy of the First Folio, the collection of 36 of his plays published by actor friends seven years after his death. Without this collection, some of Shakespeare's plays might never have survived. The exhibition runs until April 29 and entry is free.
8 March 2012