About Shakespeare and Me
The ‘Shakespeare and Me’ programme invites people to use quotations from Shakespeare as springboards to discuss their own life experiences. Quotations such as ‘to thine own self be true’ and ‘love is blind’ provide powerful stimuli for sharing stories.
Developed by Dr Kate Rumbold (Honorary Associate Professor, University of Birmingham) and delivered in partnership with Theatreish, ‘Shakespeare and Me’ is a one to five-session programme, that helps people connect with Shakespeare on an emotional level.
This approach has been used successfully in different settings across Birmingham to energise adult literacy teaching and deepen English skills; to foster connections within communities; and to encourage individuals to share stories of challenging experiences, often for the first time.
The programme forms part of ESOL and English classes at the Birmingham Adult Education Service – and is also delivered with adults in community settings across the city.
Find out more about Dr Kate Rumbold's Shakespeare workshops, including testimonials.
Express interest in hosting the programme
If you have a community or class of adults, Dr Kate Rumbold may be available to deliver the programme in your setting.
‘Shakespeare and Me’ can be run as a one-off workshop or a five-session programme, and the design and scheduling is flexible, to suit your needs.
Interested education providers and community organisations can email Birmingham Stories.
Shakespeare and You
- Do you believe that our destinies lie 'not in our stars, but in ourselves'? (Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 2)
- Have you ever felt that ‘the course of true love never did run smooth’? (A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 1, Scene 1)
- Would you advise someone to 'neither a borrower nor a lender be'? (Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3)
We would love to hear a story about Shakespeare and you. To participate, simply film a short video talking about what a Shakespeare quotation means to you. For guidance download our video brief.
Please send videos to Birmingham Stories..
You can see some examples in the videos below.