Shakespeare's Globe launches free production of Macbeth for 14,000 London teenagers
Story by Lizzie Guilfoyle
CELEBRITY patrons gathered at Shakespeare’s Globe to pledge their support for Globe Education’s fourth annual Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank project – Shakespeare’s Globe’s flagship education programme for London schools.
As part of the groundbreaking scheme, over 14,000 free tickets for a full-scale, professional production of Macbeth over two weeks in March will be made available to secondary students across the city.
Those present included Adrian Lester, Tamzin Outhwaite, Jemma Redgrave, Roberta Taylor, Craig Gazey, Siobhan Redmond and Peter Guinness.
Although all 14 year olds study Shakespeare at school, for many, seeing a production of Macbeth at Shakespeare’s Globe in March will be their first experience of live theatre. However, in order to break down barriers to the arts – both perceived and actual – Globe Education believes that all young people are entitled to access theatre of the highest quality.
Adrian Lester said: “This is a fantastic project. There is a lot of talk about ‘keeping theatre alive’, and the only way to do that is to catch your audience early and give them the bug – and that means seeing live performances. But tickets are expensive and there are whole swathes of schools that would not be able to attend – this project tackles that problem head on”.
And Tamzin Outhwaite commented: “When I was at school, going to see Shakespeare seemed like a world away. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity for schools and I’m looking forward to standing in this space and seeing it come alive myself”.
Other actors backing the project include Joseph Fiennes, Simon Russell Beale, Derek Jacobi, Lenny Henry and Dominic Cooper.
The newly-expanded project is part of Globe Education’s commitment to providing creative approaches to the teaching and learning of Shakespeare, and is tailored to Key Stage 3 (14 year old) students and their teachers. Thanks to the renewed commitment of sponsor Deutsche Bank, the project also offers free extensive interactive web resources related to the play, in-school workshops for almost 1000 students, as well as professional training workshops for teachers.
Patrick Spottiswoode, Director of Globe Education, said: “The Globe is the most exciting playground in which to meet Shakespeare. I am indebted to Deutsche Bank for supporting Globe Education’s production of Macbeth and for providing 14,000 free tickets to students from London schools. Many will be attending their first live theatre performance, let alone their first Shakespeare play”.
The free production of Macbeth – which is in addition to the production of Macbeth in the Globe’s 2010 theatre season – is directed by Bill Buckhurst, who appeared in the 2007 and 2008 Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank productions of Much Ado About Nothing. Buckhurst also directed last year’s Playing Shakespeare production of Romeo and Juliet.
Two of the performances (on March 5 and 6) will also be open to the public, with around 2,500 tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. These public performances include the Globe’s first ever captioned performance, for audience members who are deaf or hard of hearing.