Globe Education’s new Discovery Space is an entertaining and heavyweight online resource about Shakespeare and behind-the-scenes at Shakespeare’s Globe 25 June 2012 Theatre goers and professionals, school students and academics, will all find fascinating material online at Globe Education’s new Discovery Space. The site is fun as well as being a serious academic resource providing behind-the-scenes insights into rehearsing, producing and staging productions at Shakespeare’s Globe for the current season, interviews with actors, an archive of past productions, information for students and teachers’ notes on school set works, academic papers and links to further information sources. All of the materials are free to use, and are available at www.shakespearesgelobe.com/education/discovery-space Home to Globe Education’s Adopt an Actor scheme, the Discovery Space features interviews with actors performing in the Globe’s 2012 theatre season, The Play’s The Thing. The interviews follow actors including Roger Lloyd Pack (playing Buckingham in Richard III), Jamie Parker (King Henry in Henry V) and Samantha Spiro (Katherina in The Taming of the Shrew) from their first rehearsal through to opening night. An automatic Adopt function emails registered users every time their chosen ‘adopted’ actor posts a new interview on their experiences of playing at the Globe. Archive interviews with over 150 actors from past seasons are also available, and are searchable by actor, character or play.
Alongside the main theatre season plays, teachers and students can find out more about professional productions staged as part of Globe Education’s flagship Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank schools’ project. Microsites created for each production since 2008 include backstage diaries and interviews, and provide a collection of free learning materials which offer a variety of creative ways to engage with language, character, themes and performance.
Among the wealth of resources are research bulletins and conference papers written by leading academics and members of Globe Education’s leading research department, offering detailed discussion of the themes and issues raised in Shakespeare’s works. As well as acting as an invaluable resource for anyone researching the plays, the papers are a key part of the Globe’s theatremaking process, providing actors, directors and creative teams with unique insights into the plays they are producing.
The research papers are supported by a comprehensive archive detailing all Globe productions since 1997, including Shakespeare productions, other early modern plays, and new writing. The archive is fully searchable, allowing users to filter information by playwright, play title, production year or director.
For those wishing to take their study of renaissance drama further, an Online Resources section provides links to external journals, databases and catalogues relating to early modern theatre.
The Discovery Space will continue to grow over the coming months as further resources, including video interviews with actors, are added. Visit the website at: www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space
ENDS Further information and images from Eleanor Lovegrove at Shakespeare’s Globe Press Office on +44 (0)20 7902 1468, eleanor.l@shakespearesglobe.com
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 Indoor Jacobean Theatre: Shakespeare’s Globe is currently fundraising to build an indoor Jacobean theatre, opening in 2013. For further information please visit www.shakespearesglobe.com/indoorjacobeantheatre Shakespeare’s Globe on film: The highly successful 2010 productions of Henry VIII and The Merry Wives of Windsor are now available on DVD from the Globe Shop, and will be available across the UK and internationally from July. DVDs of the award-winning productions of Henry IV, parts 1 and 2 are now on sale internationally and in the Globe Shop, and will be available across st the UK 1 August. The Shakespeare Globe Trust is a registered charity No.266916. Shakespeare’s Globe receives no annual public subsidy.