To help young people connect with Shakespeare's
plays, it's important to look in detail at
the characters: what motivates them? Why
are they conflicted?
How do they change?
There are various theatrical techniques you can use with
pupils to help them to do this, many of
which were developed by Voice Director
Cicely Berry at the RSC. [Royal Shakespeare Company]
The following activity looks at Macbeth's soliloquy.
It's a pivotal moment in the play
where Macbeth is deciding if he should kill
King Duncan.
1. Before you start,  pupils should have the chance to read and
understand the speech without feeling
the pressure to know or understand every
word. A choral reading is great for this,
asking everyone to read together so no
one feels singled out.
2. While reading a very short extract you can pause and
discuss any words or phrases that might
be confusing. Ask pupils to think about
what Macbeth is going through, what is it
he's thinking of doing and Why?
3. Provide each pupil with a text scrap or extract
from earlier in the play, which gives
one reason why Macbeth should or
should not murder
Duncan.
4. Invite one pupil into the middle of the circle to play Macbeth
and ask the others to take it in turns to
read their texts scraps.
As they read them, the pupil playing
Macbeth can move into the middle of
the circle if they feel persuaded to
kill King Duncan, and toward the edge if
they feel persuaded not to kill him
5. At the end of the activity look at
where in the circle Macbeth is standing
and discuss whether they think he will
commit the murder based on these reasons.
How close to the center is he?
Looking at moments in characters journeys like this,
particularly with soliloquies or
speeches where characters face decisions
or choices, allows the pupils to talk
about the thought processes a character
is going through and how the language
reveals these.
You can find more activities and ideas like this one in
other videos in the series as well as in
the 'Shakespeare Lives In Schools
Resource Pack' developed by the RSC and
the British Council
