The latest innovation is a free app that combines interactive games, music videos, quizzes and interviews about Shakespeare’s use of language.
RE:Shakespeare is being launched this month by the Royal Shakespeare Company and Samsung Electronics UK and its creators hope that it will transform the way young people experience the Bard’s work, both in and out of the classroom.
A total of three million students in the UK and 64 million students worldwide study Shakespeare’s plays each year.
Hosted by RSC actor David Tennant, the RE:Shakespeare app focuses on Much Ado About Nothing and includes thematic links to and quotes from 19 other Shakespeare plays. Along the way it aims to engage pupils with the help of hip-hop artist Akala, beatboxing champion Shlomo, spoken word artist Indigo Williams, RSC voice coaches, RSC actor Tamsin Greig, and RSC director Iqbal Khan.
Students can also watch two 360-degree scenes from Much Ado About Nothing and then perform the role of Benedick or Beatrice opposite an RSC actor.
Catherine Mallyon, the RSC’s executive director, hopes the app will enable more young people to enjoy Shakespeare’s work. “Four hundred years on, Shakespeare remains Britain’s pre-eminent playwright,” she said.
“His plays are part of our cultural inheritance and a curriculum requirement. We play a leading role in ensuring that this special inheritance is shared with young people and in nurturing and developing their relationship with Shakespeare’s work and live theatre.
"The RE:Shakespeare app helps young people to relate to Shakespeare’s work in a completely new way. It invites them not only to work with an exciting range of artists but also invites them on to our stages through the use of innovative technology.”
RE:Shakespeare is free to download on Google Play via http://bit.ly/1NOKUrr