Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance: Resources for Educators

At the English-Speaking Union, we believe the best way to understand Shakespeare is to speak the words, bringing them to life. For over 40 years, the ESU National Shakespeare Competition has empowered teachers to explore Shakespeare’s works with their students through performance-based learning.

Whether you’re new to Shakespeare or a seasoned educator looking for fresh ideas, we’re here to support you.

 

Why Performance-Based Shakespeare?

Shakespeare was never meant to be read silently. His plays are scripts, not novels. By focusing on voice, movement, and interpretation performance-based approaches helps students:

  • Deepen their understanding of language and character 
  • Build confidence and communication skills
  • Foster empathy and critical thinking
  • Discover personal connections to the text

 

Additional Online Resources

These trusted sites offer lesson plans, videos, scholarly insights and interactive tools to support performance-based Shakespeare instruction:

Performance-Based Teaching Tools

  • Folger Shakespeare Library — Teaching Resources — Offers free lesson plans, video clips of student performances, text analysis tools and professional development opportunities focused on active, performance-centered teaching
  • Shakespeare’s Birthplace Trust (Stratford-upon-Avon, UK) — Discover rich educational resources and historic insight from Shakespeare’s hometown
  • Shakespeare’s Globe (London, UK) — Access performance-based workshops, teaching materials and global Shakespeare
  • RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) Education — The RSC shares classroom resources, rehearsal room practices and online workshops based on their own actor training. Especially strong for engaging reluctant learners.

Open-Access Texts and Study Tools

  • MIT Shakespeare — Full texts of Shakespeare’s plays in original form. Great for script preparation and monologue searches.
  • Open Source Shakespeare — A searchable database of Shakespeare’s complete works. Very useful for finding specific passages, characters or themes.
  • No Fear Shakespeare (SparkNotes) — Provides modern English translations alongside the original text. While not performance-focused, it can be a helpful support tool for students grappling with difficult language. 

Video and Multimedia

  • PBS Great Performances — Shakespeare Uncovered — Each episode dives into the story, history and performance legacy of a Shakespeare play–hosted by actors like Helen Hunt and Ethan Hawke.
  • The Globe Player — Stream full productions from Shakespeare’s Globe in London. Great for showing students how professionals bring these texts to life.

Professional Communities and Teaching Networks