We can arrange customised course designed specially for your university. In conjunction with the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham, we offer all college and university students the unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the work and theatre of the greatest dramatist and poet.
Courses usually run for a week, but can be anything from a few days to a couple or more weeks in duration. Many of the universities for which we run courses are able to offer the programme as credit options to their students. What could be better than a week of learning about and enjoying Shakespeare's plays, and seeing them brought to life on stage by the world famous Royal Shakespeare Company?
Based on the plays currently being performed by the RSC in Stratford, the 'Shakespeare at Stratford: Text and Theatre' courses offer a full academic programme of pre-performance lectures and post-performance discussions led by scholars of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute, for example 'Exploring Shakespeare in Stratford'. The courses are augmented by classes with members of the RSC (including actors and voice coaches) and so bring Shakespeare as 'Text' and Shakespeare as 'Theatre' into dialogue with each other. Within this academic context of study and scholarship, question and answer discussions with actors and theatre practitioners, the way Shakespeare is understood and appreciated is brought to life. The courses provide a forum for the stage and the study to come together in a powerfully creative and unforgettable way.
There is also the opportunity to focus on other areas of Shakespearian study and the courses can be customised to include a range of other lectures, practical classes and cultural experiences. Whether you would like a voice class with an RSC professional, a practical class on staging, an evening's play-reading, a day trip to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, a day in Oxford, or a visit to another theatre in the area, we would be happy to make the necessary arrangements.
University and College courses are arranged by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in consultation with individual course leaders. Usually, these are college or university teachers, but sometimes they can be organised by the students themselves. One exception is the annual course run by the English Association which brings together undergraduates from different British universities. Together, Stratford-upon-Avon and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust provide a collegiate atmosphere conducive to learning and creative thought.
'Shakespeare at Stratford: Text and Theatre' courses are fully inclusive and residential courses from the moment a group arrives in England to the moment the participants leave. Transport, bed and breakfast accommodation, all lectures, classes, theatre tickets and excursions are fully inclusive. The courses have been running for over forty years - testimony itself to their quality and popularity.
Courses usually run for a week, but can be anything from a few days to a couple or more weeks in duration. Many of the universities for which we run courses are able to offer the programme as credit options to their students. What could be better than a week of learning about and enjoying Shakespeare's plays, and seeing them brought to life on stage by the world famous Royal Shakespeare Company?
