Improvised Shakespeare Course

William Shakespeare: the bard, England’s national poet, the world’s greatest dramatist. Untouchable, inimitable… unimprovisable, right? Surely you can’t just ‘make up’ Shakespeare? You absolutely can and it’s beautiful and hilarious in equal measure. Join us on this six-week course where you will achieve the impossible by improvising prose, poetry, insults, soliloquies, asides, sonnets, maybe even a play within a play, and more, in the style of Shakespeare.

We will delve into the real works for inspiration, but not so much we get lost in it. Using a range of techniques and games, a mixture of short and long form improvisation, and a touch of parody, we’ll have Shakespeare’s quill putting words straight into our mouths.

Exploring the range of Shakespeare’s genres and themes – comedic, tragic, historic, and the simply weird; we’ll become improvised royals and nobles, fools, witches, ‘rude mechanicals’, unrequited lovers, witty youths, warriors and fairies.

Who is it for?
If you’re interested in making up Shakespeare-style scenes and have about a year of improvisation experience, then you! No previous study or performance of Shakespeare is necessary.