Drama Games for Exploring Shakespeare

This dip-in, flick-through, quick-fire resource book, part of the bestselling Drama Games series, offers dozens of games to help bring Shakespeare's plays to life in the classroom or rehearsal room – making them fun and accessible to actors, students, directors and teachers.

Inspired by the work of leading cultural education charity Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, this book offers a wide range of activities to tackle every aspect of the plays, including:

• Warm-ups and General Games to establish an atmosphere of focus, connection, support and fun – all the conditions you need for a successful session
• Story and World-building to explore the events, environments and societies of Shakespeare's plays
• Introducing Shakespeare's Language to break down the text and allow participants to uncover the meaning through play and creative discovery
• Activating Shakespeare's Language to liberate actors from the script through movement and voice-work
• Character to help develop compelling, believable performances by investigating motivations and relationships, circumstances and emotions
• Staging to help empower every member of the ensemble in moments that might be challenging to stage – such as big movement sequences, fights and battles and intimate love scenes

Whatever your reason for exploring Shakespeare – whether you're directing a production, teaching a set text, or introducing his work to young people for the first time – this essential resource will give you the tools you need to demystify the language, take ownership of the plays, and find a connection to the words that resonates in our own time.

'This wonderful book will be an invaluable resource for anyone approaching the teaching or directing of Shakespeare, whether novice or veteran' Paterson Joseph, from his Foreword

A downloadable pdf extract is available below, along with a printable file containing the Character Cards for Macbeth used in two of the games from the book.

Blog Post: 'Most people learn best through doing. Moving, speaking and playing with Shakespeare brings it to life in a way that sitting at a desk, struggling to read the unfamiliar and complex language never could.' Alanna Beeken on the three core principles to remember when doing Shakespeare with young people, plus two sample games from the book. Read more on our blog>>