This year, as part of GCSE English Literature, Mr Graham, Lead Practitioner for English, arranged a visit from the award-winning theatre company, Box Clever, which is dedicated to the creation of contemporary theatre for young people.

The company brings interactive theatre experiences to schools, involving students as the audience members, participants and co-creators, and through creative plays they address relevant world issues from road safety and relationships to bullying.

Cast members, Paulo Sebastiao, Poppy Charlton and Callum Broome presented a contemporary version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth to all students in Years 10 and 11, inviting individuals from the audience to join them on stage. The play was followed by a workshop debating the key themes of Macbeth; this linked directly to English Literature Paper 1. Six students in Year 9 also attended the event by special invitation as they had demonstrated a love for classic literature and attended lunchtime revision clubs to study the text in advance.

Mr Graham said, “It can be difficult to get young people to approach Shakespeare and Macbeth with an open mind as they automatically assume that they won’t have anything in common with the characters in a 400 year-old play, however they soon change their opinion. This Box Clever visit allowed us to engage a whole year group at once, and students embraced the key themes of ambition, guilt, good versus evil, the influence of power and the concept of fate versus free will. It was a great way to learn and students were completely enthralled.”

In October, Box Clever will return to deliver two performances of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens followed by associated workshops to examine the themes in this classic novel. Again, this will be delivered to all students in Years 10 and 11 to prepare them for GCSE English Literature Paper 1. Scan this QR code to visit the Box Clever website and view A Christmas Carol trailer.