BUDDING Bards will get to dance, draw and devise a play in a day to mark the 12th anniversary of Shakespeare Week.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is putting on its national celebration of Shakespeare aimed at primary school pupils from Monday March 23 to Sunday March 29.
Founded in 2014, Shakespeare Week provides youngsters with opportunities for enjoyable early experiences of Shakespeare using online workshops, storytellings and cross-curricular materials linked to Shakespeare’s life, times and works.
Celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen will be leading an online poetry workshop.
He said: “I have been very fortunate in having had the chance to work for many years with Shakespeare Week at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. I have seen at close quarters the commitment, scholarship and creativity that they bring to taking Shakespeare to children and young people. They know only too well, that it’s not enough to simply say, ‘Shakespeare is amazing’ or some such. They show through their work that Shakespeare comes alive best when you get down to the images and the passions expressed through the words. Shakespeare Week deserves every support it can get.”
There will also be opportunities throughout the week for the children to visit SBT’s properties in Stratford and take part in a variety of activities.
There will be a dance showcase with pupils from a Birmingham school who have been working with Ascension Dance at Shakespeare’s New Place Gardens, as well as a series of Play in a Day sessions which will see schools respond to ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘The Tempest’ or ‘Macbeth’ and create, in a day, a 10 minute play at either Shakespeare’s Birthplace or New Place Gardens.
Shakespeare Week also includes the launch of a new online exhibition ‘In My Mind’s Eye’ which features some of Shakespeare’s iconic plays and shows how his stories and characters have inspired artists and creatives for hundreds of years.
This exhibition provides the inspiration for the Shakespeare Week 2026 competition. Schools and families are invited to submit their play-inspired artwork based on what they see in their ‘mind’s eye’ via the Shakespeare Week website.
Closing date for submissions is May 26.
Visit www.shakespeareweek.org.uk for more details.
