I’ve written previously on this blog about the value of Shakespeare for children of all ages, even primary school children (HERE). I grew up in a home where books weren’t read to or with me, so reading was not a pleasurable pursuit at home. So there was little chance that I was ever going to meet Shakespeare until forced to read it at High School. What a terrible way to be introduced to some of the world’s greatest literature. I found English classes boring and seemingly unrelated to my life. Not surprisingly, I found Shakespeare’s plays remote and of little interest. And yet later in life I began to appreciate and love Shakespeare’s work. But is it possible to make Shakespeare accessible for children as young as seven or eight years? Yes, I think it is! A good place to start is either with an abridged version of the great plays or using some of the wonderful prose versions of his work. A company in Sydney has even begun to present live Shakespeare to primary schools. Bell Shakespeare has set itself the task of introducing primary aged children to Shakespeare’s plays, with a plan to teach Shakespeare’s work to children as young as six. The company wants to inspire a new generation to love the work. The company sees the program as a form or ‘early intervention’ where children will be helped to appreciate the complex and rich language of the great epic stories that are the foundation of Shakespeare’s work. Sixty- Minute Shakespeare
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