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RSC collaboration engagement

The collaboration has offered students the chance to develop a deeper understanding of an internationally renowned theatre company whilst blending academia and creativity. See how our students have benefited from numerous events and activities below.

First Encounters - undergraduate workshop with the RSC

As part of our collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, University of Birmingham Drama and English undergraduate students recently took part in an exciting workshop with RSC practitioners about getting Shakespeare on its feet.

  • Photo of display

    Creating Ophelia’s Frost Faire – An Interactive Exhibition

    .As part of the MA Shakespeare and Creativity course, students had the opportunity to create a public event to explore how Shakespeare’s work could be used to address climate change and inspire positive change. MA Shakespeare and Creativity student Emma Moules has written about organising this project, the support they received from the RSC and her experience at the event.

    Read about Emma's experience

  • The Empress production. Photo by Ellie Kurttz © RSC

    Seminar with The Empress Director

    Students at the Shakespeare Institute have the opportunity to join weekly seminars with experts on Shakespeare and theatre. Recently, Layla Madanat talked about her experience as assistant director for the RSC show The Empress. MA Shakespeare and Creativity student Diana Green has written about what she learnt from this session.

    Read about Diana's experience

  • Photo of workers on set. Photo by Ruxandra Bageac © RSC

    Experiencing a theatre set changeover at the RSC

    Students at the Shakespeare Institute had the opportunity to see a set changeover between the productions of Cowbois and The Empress at the Royal Shakespeare Company Theatre. Student Catherine Farrell said "We were able to watch backstage secrets unfold before our very eyes. Overall, this unique opportunity is something very few members of the public are able to witness and as a creative and theatre maker first, it is something I won’t forget"

    Read about Catherine's experience.

Building an Ensemble workshop with the RSC

As part of the MA Shakespeare and Creativity course, students had the opportunity to take part in a Royal Shakespeare Company ensemble-building workshop led by actor and practitioner Yasmin Taheri. This workshop focussed on building an ensemble, using exercises from Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, and Macbeth. Student Rachel Stevenson said "As we gathered for our final reflection, I was struck by the trust and joy radiating throughout the room. This workshop taught me the creative value of play and helped our ensemble to become a space where we can do so constructively and unapologetically"

  • A scene from King John, 2019. Photo by Steve Tanner © RSC

    Spring into Shakespeare students take part in sessions with RSC experts

    Students on the Spring into Shakespeare short course had the opportunity to take part in a series of Q&A sessions with Royal Shakespeare Company practitioners. The first session was with Alex Waldmann, who played Brutus in the RSC’s 2017 production of Julius Caesar. He discussed a range of issues, including how he worked with the director and how he prepares for performances. The second session was with Eleanor Rhode, who directed the RSC’s 2019 production of King John.

    Read about the students experiences

  • School pupils painting in workshop

    MA Shakespeare and Creativity students look to inspire next generation

    MA Shakespeare and Creativity students from the Shakespeare Institute delivered a workshop to local Stratford school children as part of their postgraduate Shakespeare in Society module. Taught in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the Shakespeare in Society module is designed to help students explore how they can bring Shakespeare into the world beyond the academy and the theatre. This year, students on the MA programme delivered two workshops for children at Holy Trinity C of E Primary School, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The workshops were fully interactive experiences for the children, who were encouraged to explore Shakespeare characters, from the villain to the dreamer, through movement and crafts. Sally Delbeke, former Partnerships Manager at the University of Birmingham, said: “The Shakespeare and Society module is a unique opportunity for students to take Shakespeare out into the community. This year’s project was a great example of how Shakespeare can engage all ages. “It also gave our MA students an opportunity to work closely with the RSC, whose staff, and associated artists, supported the students throughout the devising process. This module is just one of the many ways our students at the Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon benefit from our collaboration with the RSC.”

  • Students performing to a crowd in Stratford upon Avon

    MA students perform to crowds in Stratford-upon-Avon

    In December 2021, MA Shakespeare and Creativity students performed to the public in Stratford-upon-Avon as part of their Shakespeare in Society Module. Taught in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the module is designed to help students explore how they can bring Shakespeare into the world beyond the academy and the theatre. This year, the students project was called ‘Shakespeare All Around Us’. Student performers guided the public on a walk through Bancroft Gardens pointing out stories and history that many may have missed or forgotten about through a series of intimate theatrical performances.

  • RSC Director Kimberley Sykes talking at the workshop

    Discovering Shakespeare RSC Workshop

    BA English students were joined by RSC Director Kimberley Sykes and her colleague Tom King for a practical Shakespeare workshop as part of the commitment to enriching student experience. The full day workshop was organised as part of our popular ‘Discovering Shakespeare’ module, which runs with support from our collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

  • Students performing on stage

    University of Birmingham Students Perform Two New Plays

    Shakespeare and Creativity MA students from the Shakespeare Institute performed two new plays at The Other Place studio theatre. As part of their Shakespeare and Creativity MA, students from the University of Birmingham have presented two new plays in response to Shakespeare in 2019. This Filthy Crow explores Shakespeare's neglected female characters, following three witches on a journey of self-discovery. In The Folkman's Tale, a coffee shop owner has to make a choice between her father's folk legacy or embracing the takeover the disco.

    Read more about the performances

  • Students sitting in a group on the stage at the RSC

    Deadpool Shakespeare and Klingon Hamlet

    One of the most common phrases you’re likely to hear when Shakespeare crops up in a discussion is: “his work is still so relevant to a contemporary audience”. In January 2020 and our undergraduate English students studying on the ‘Discovering Shakespeare’ module spent the day in Stratford-upon-Avon finding out why.

  • An actress signing lines in a performance

    Signing Shakespeare at the Hay Festival

    The ‘Signing Shakespeare’ project (born out of the collaboration between University of Birmingham and the RSC) has worked with D/deaf theatre practitioners and teachers of the D/deaf to tackle the problem of access to Shakespeare for young D/deaf students. Abigail Rokison-Woodall (project lead), is joined by Tracy Irish (RSC), Angie Wootten (UoB) and Charlotte Arrowsmith (actor) to discuss the projects aims and methods and showcase the films at the online 2021 Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts.

    Signing Shakespeare project