Why teach Shakespeare to primary students?
The preparation for our Shakespeare Festivals includes
In varying degrees of sophistication, learning lines, cues, stagecraft, plot and historical background to the play.
There is much discussion during rehearsals, especially with the older students, on the motivation of the characters, the emotional layers of the text and the understanding of the language.
Our consistent experience has been that early and extensive exposure to Shakespeare in this positive way opens up the students’ connection with beautiful, expressive language.
John Bell, the founder of The Bell Shakespeare Company, is patron of the Festivals. A representative from Bell Shakespeare visits each year to watch our plays and offer encouragement and mentoring with a Q&A session with the older students.