Share Your Shakespeare - with the RSC

I love Shakespeare. I grew up near his home town of Stratford and spent most of my childhood at the RSC watching his plays being acted out. I fell in love with the language, the stories and the characters.

Thanks to my job I’ve spent most of the last seven years in and around theatre, writing about it, reviewing plays and interviewing those amazing actors who grace the stage.

Unfortunately the COVID-19 crisis has stopped all that - at least temporarily. However, the RSC has come up with a great way for us to stay connected with its Share Your Shakespeare initiative.

They are asking people of all ages to film or photograph your Shakespeare in any way you like and then upload to social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter or YouTube tagging @theRSC and using the hashtag #ShareYourShakespeare.

Ideas put forward can be a performance of a famous Shakespeare speech or sonnet, painting a picture, or baking a cake with a quote written on the top in icing. 

A speech, quote or sonnet should be one that speaks to you, or makes you laugh, cry or shed a tear, or it could be one that reminds you of somebody or something.

here are a few the RSC has come up with:

1. Bake a cake with your favourite quote in the icing
2. Recreate the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene with vegetables
3. Perform “All the world’s a stage” line by line with your family on Zoom
4. Draw or paint your favourite scene
5. Feeling musical? Why not re-write a Shakespeare speech as a song?
6. Shout your speech over the fence to your neighbours (two metres apart of course)
7. Act out a moment through the medium of dance on Tik Tok
8. Get your pets involved
9. Tell a Shakespeare story in emojis 

No idea is too silly! So, what are you waiting for? Get bold. Get creative. Get involved!

Whatever it is have a go - the RSC will share its favourites on its social media platforms over the next few weeks and in the run up to Shakespeare’s birthday on April 23.