What can productions of Shakespeare’s plays tell us about today’s London theatreland? We’ll see productions of Shakespeare and/or his contemporaries and use that experience to explore the plays themselves, the links between the Renaissance and the present day, and Shakespeare’s place in the London theatre industry. Together we will sample the state-of-play of Shakespeare in London, exploring very different kinds of productions of three plays to investigate the London theatre's energetic and often irreverent response to Shakespeare and Renaissance dramatists. This will involve thinking about questions of access and representation for marginalised communities’ engagement with Shakespeare, and we’ll think about questions of casting among others. This module is for you if you’re enthusiastic about drama and the theatre industry, want to expand your knowledge of Shakespeare and performance, or if you’re thinking about working in any part of the cultural or heritage industries.

Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this module will have:

• an enriched understanding of Shakespearean language

• an enriched understanding of the social and theatrical contexts for the Shakespearean stage, including questions of access and representation

• increased comprehension of the changing dynamics of a play through its performance history

• increased skills of analysing a theatre production in relation to its text and both its early modern and present-day social context

• enhanced presentation skills

• enhanced skills of argument and evidencing

• enhanced research skills

• enhanced their insight into the present-day London Shakespearean theatre industry, supporting them for careers in the cultural and heritage sectors.

*Course content subject to change