Shakespeare & his Contemporaries: Comedies and Tragedies

Take your A level literature and language candidates' Shakespeare knowledge up a level through a deep dive into the theatrical scene of the period that Shakespeare absorbed and helped shape.

Encompassing tragedies and comedies of the time including: Twelfth Night; Measure for Measure; The Tempest; Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; Dr Faustus; The Revenger's Tragedy and The Duchess of Malfi, the session will consider the contemporary writers who helped pave the way for Shakespeare's plays as well as Shakespeare's works that inspired later writers.

Casting a fresh light on set texts, this literature/language session covers all aspects of early modern plays, broadening knowledge on Shakespeare's dramas and highlighting the work of several other electrifying playwrights of the period.

These 90 minute illustrated, interactive talks focus on:

• structure, form and language in the plays of Shakespeare and contemporary dramatists
• social, cultural and theatrical contexts underpinning the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries
• stagecraft in the plays of Shakespeare and his contemporaries
• stage histories
• shared themes, influences and sources explored in the dramas of the period
• alternative interpretations
• critical voices
• function and effect of writing
• informed personal responses
• selected extracts.

Sessions can be booked all year round, Monday to Thursday - 9.00am to 5.00pm and take place onsite in Stratford-upon-Avon.

For more information or to make a booking please email [email protected]

Price: £10 per person with a minimum charge of £150. One member of staff is free with every 10 students.

Maximum capacity per talk is currently 33 (students plus staff). Larger groups would be split across more than one session.

A visit to Shakespeare’s Birthplace can be arranged for an additional charge.