Educational aims of Key Stage 2 work...

At the heart of the Young Shakespeare Company’s exploration of Shakespeare’s plays with young children lies the process of active storytelling.

Active storytelling is a practical, collaborative discovery process. The experience is an extension of the commitment and imaginative engagement which children bring to their own play. Through active storytelling the story, language and characters are interwoven in the creation of a unique fictional world, a world in which fantasy and reality blur and disbelief is willingly suspended.

The children themselves explore and define the world of the play and this world has few boundaries or rules. It certainly does not depend on historical or geographical accuracy.

For some children relevant historical study, gained perhaps through KS2 History work, will enhance their understanding of the play and enable the teacher to extend the creative process across the curriculum. But initially active storytelling gives priority to imaginative and creative involvement.

Through active storytelling Shakespeare’s language becomes a key point of access to the imaginative world. Young children have an innate love of rhythm and rhyme. They enjoy speaking Shakespeare’s words and exploring different ways of saying them. Using short, accessible sections of the language enhances the children’s involvement in the world of the play and deepens their understanding of the characters and their feelings.

Active storytelling works most effectively when the children do not know the story first. Children live through the story, discovering it as they go. They become involved in the world of the play by putting themselves in the shoes of the characters, imagining how they feel. This inside knowledge allows the children to discuss and predict what the characters are likely to do next. The process is participatory and non-competitive, involving all the children all of the time. It is a collaborative venture between the storytellers and the children and between the children themselves.