Stellar line-up from arts and education support £1m free ticket project for London
teenagers at Shakespeare’s Globe
- A Midsummer Night’s Dream 27 February to 8 March 2012
8 February 2012
A stellar list of patrons including names from our great British acting establishment and fast rising
stars, as well as prominent voices for the Arts and education including Michael Gove, Secretary of
State for Education, Ed Vaizey Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries, and
Baroness Morris, the former education secretary, join forces to support London‟s most ambitious arts
and education project. Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank provides 20,000 free tickets each
year to a specially commissioned production at Shakespeare‟s Globe and provides in-school
workshops, training sessions for teachers at the Globe, and a lively interactive website
www.playingshakespeare.org.
On 27 February a two-week run of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, giving Shakespeare‟s text a fresh
and edgy interpretation to appeal directly to 11 – 16 year olds, will open on the Globe stage. Students
from 119 schools from every London Borough will see the production for free. Over 70 per cent of
London schools have participated in the project since it began in 2007 providing over 50,000 school
students with tickets worth over £1m.
In addition to the schools shows, there will be two public performances of A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, at 7pm on Friday 2 March and at 2pm on Saturday 3 March. Tickets for these performances
are free, but must be booked in advance by contacting the Shakespeare‟s Globe box office on 020
7401 9919 when booking opens on Monday 20 February.
The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education, applauds the annual project, "Globe
Education and Deutsche Bank offer thousands of young people from state secondary schools across
London their first experience of live Shakespeare - for free. Each year workshops and online
resources support a vibrant production giving teenagers the chance to enjoy Shakespeare's genius in
an unforgettable performance on the Globe stage. It's fantastic that our greatest writer is introduced to
the next generation in this way."
Law and Order: UK star Jamie Bamber, also lends his name to the project, “I can remember being
twelve years old and reading Shakespeare for the first time and it feeling like a foreign language. But I
was lucky. I had inspiring teachers and interested parents who shared their love for the plays. I
remember laughing hysterically at a production of Two Gentleman, the first at the Globe, and being
stunned by the thought that "this stuff is really funny". It changed my life. Thanks to this project
thousands of teenagers who would not otherwise get that opportunity will be introduced to
Shakespeare's immediacy and hopefully they will find themselves laughing as I did - and who knows
where those opportunities will lead?”
Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank is supported by a panel of celebrity patrons, all of whom are
committed to promoting the causes of live theatre and enabling young people to experience and enjoy
the arts. Patrons include actors William Ash, Jamie Bamber, Simon Callow, Bertie Carvel, Tom
Chambers, Richard Clifford, Craig Gazey, Peter Guinness, Sir Derek Jacobi, Paterson Joseph,
Katherine Kelly, Larry Lamb, Amanda Lawrence, Josie Lawrence, Gerard McCarthy, Alfred Molina,
Miranda Raison, Iwan Rheon, Simon Russell Beale and Roberta Taylor; children‟s campaigner Floella
Benjamin; artist Grayson Perry; and politicians Michael Gove MP, Ed Vaizey MP and Baroness Morris.
A Midsummer Night’s Dream will be directed by Bill Buckhurst, director of the past three Playing
Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank productions. The cast features Emma Pallant as Titania and Chook
Sibtain as Oberon. Hermia will be played by Louise Collins; Lysander by Peter Bray; Demetrius by
Richard James Neale; and Helena by Carlyss Peer.
On the accompanying website www.playingshakespeare.org teenagers have the opportunity to design
their own sets, costumes and posters, working to the exact briefs used by the professional creative
team at Shakespeare‟s Globe. The best student designs will be published on the website. The site has
weekly updates from this year‟s production team for Globe Education‟s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
with backstage blogs, interviews with the cast, and rehearsal pictures.
A Language section features an interactive „script machine‟ enabling students to explore three key
scenes from the play. Literary terms are highlighted and explained, and there is a glossary of
unfamiliar vocabulary. In the Characters section, each character has their own profile page in a
Facebook style layout, and is complete with audio interviews with the actors. Students can learn more
about the lives and loves of the characters, or help them solve their dilemmas by submitting answers
to their Agony Aunt questions. There are also comprehensive Classroom Notes, providing teachers
with a series of creative activities and teaching ideas, spanning the English, Drama and Art & Design
curricula.
Following its London run, A Midsummer Night’s Dream will tour the Middle East, visiting theatres in
Abu Dhabi and Dubai for two weeks in March. This will be the second time that Globe Education has
taken a production to the UAE following the successful tour of the 2011 Playing Shakespeare with
Deutsche Bank production of Macbeth.
The Financial Times is the project‟s media partner, for the fifth successive year.
ENDS
Further information and images are available from Eleanor Lovegrove at Shakespeare‟s Globe
Press Office on 020 7902 1468, [email protected]
Notes to Editors:
Globe Education is one of the largest arts education departments in the UK. Each year, more
than 100,000 people of all ages and nationalities participate in Globe Education's programme of
public events, workshops and courses. Globe Education also runs an extensive programme in
the Southwark community and creates national and international outreach projects for students
and teachers. For more information, visit www.shakespearesglobe.com/education
A Midsummer Night’s Dream – directed by Bill Buckhurst
Cast:
Emma Pallant – Hippolyta/Titania
Carlyss Peer – Helena/Starveling/Fairy
Louise Collins – Hermia/Snug/Cobweb
Fergus McElherron – Philstrate/Puck
Peter Bray – Lysander/Flute/Peaseblossom
Russell Layton – Bottom
Richard James Neale – Demetrius/Snout/Mastardseed
William Oxborrow – Egeus/Quince/Moth
Chook (Joplin) Sibtain – Theseus/Oberon
Other fairies – Louise Collins, Peter Bray, Russell Layton, Richard James Neale, William
Oxborrow
Court – Steve Bentley-Klein, Harry Napier, Stephen Hiscock, Genevieve Wilkins
Deutsche Bank is a leading global investment bank with a substantial private clients franchise.
Its businesses are mutually reinforcing. A leader in Germany and Europe, the bank is
continuously growing in North America, Asia and key emerging markets. With more than
100,000 employees in 72 countries, Deutsche Bank offers unparalleled financial services
throughout the world. The bank competes to be the leading global provider of financial solutions,
creating lasting value for its clients, shareholders, people and the communities in which it
operates. www.db.com
Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank is endorsed by a panel of celebrity Patrons who
share the belief that young people are entitled to access theatre of the highest quality. The full
list of Patrons is: William Ash, Jamie Bamber, Floella Benjamin, Simon Callow, Bertie Carvel,
Tom Chambers, Richard Clifford, Craig Gazey, Michael Gove, Peter Guinness, Paterson
Joseph, Katherine Kelly, Larry Lamb, Amanda Lawrence, Gerard McCarthy, Alfred Molina,
Grayson Perry, Miranda Raison, Iwan Rheon, Simon Russell Beale, Roberta Taylor and Ed
Vaizey.
The free online learning resources can be found on the Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche
Bank website at www.playingshakespeare.org
The Financial Times, one of the world‟s leading business news organisations, is recognised
internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing essential news, comment, data
and analysis for the global business community, the FT has a combined paid print and digital
circulation of 601,269 (Deloitte assured, 3 October 2011 to 1 January 2012) and a combined
print and online average daily readership of 2.1 million people worldwide (PwC assured, May
2011). FT.com has over 4.3 million registered users and 267,497 paying digital subscribers. The
newspaper, printed at 22 print sites across the globe, has a global print circulation of
333,771 (ABC figures December 2011).
The Shakespeare Globe Trust is a registered charity No.266916. Shakespeare‟s Globe
receives no public subsidy.