The English-Speaking Union Registered charity no. 273136 Creating global understanding through English The English-Speaking Union is an international charity founded in 1918 to promote international understanding and friendship through the use of the English language. That has never been so important and never so possible. The world desperately needs international understanding and the reach of English provides a way of achieving it. The ESU is committed to creating international understanding through English at a time when English has become the working language of the global village. This unprecedented expansion in the use of English has happened for many reasons including the arrival of a global economy and the spread of the internet. English has become indispensable for the world. At the heart of the ESU s response is the role of English in literature, in the arts and music which transcend all traditional barriers, as well as in public speaking, discussion and debate. International understanding is created by the exchange of ideas and experience through the medium of a common spoken language. Hence the ESU s Centre for Speech and Debate at Dartmouth House. Hence our International and National Debating and Public Speaking Competitions involving hundreds of universities and thousands of schools worldwide. Hence the innovation of internet debating and the vast range of individual scholarships, internships and exchanges organised by Dartmouth House. All this is reinforced by international conferences and vigorous current and cultural affairs programmes in London. The ESU in London works in partnership with ESUs worldwide. Founded originally in 1918 to help bind together the English-speaking peoples of the United States and the Commonwealth, today the ESU has spread to more than 50 countries. In the USA and the UK, the ESU has many membership branches supporting and participating in its international work. During its 90 year history the ESU has played an important part in fostering cultural links between nations. The original ties between Great Britain, the United States of America and the Commonwealth countries have, in recent decades, been extended world-wide. Many scholarships, internships and exchanges are sponsored by the ESU, providing the opportunity for study both in the UK and overseas. These awards include grants to young musicians, young teachers and postgraduate students. Debates, conferences and lectures allow ESU members to exchange views on a wide range of contemporary issues. The ESU also runs events and competitions for schools and universities in the UK that support the effective use of the English language. The ESU is a membership organisation with branches throughout the UK and with ESUs active in over 50 countries on five continents.
ESU Shakespeare Study Course in Stratford 2009 A week of Shakespeare plays, lectures, discussions, and workshops devised and delivered by Shakespearian experts in Stratford-upon-Avon In 2009 the ESU Shakespeare Study Course will be held in Stratford-upon-Avon from 2-8 August. Shakespeare in Stratford is offered in association with The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the charity which cares for the World s Shakespeare Heritage and promotes the knowledge and appreciation of the great man s work. The programme gives those teaching or studying Shakespeare around the world the opportunity to immerse themselves in a week of Shakespeare s plays, lectures, discussions, and workshops devised and delivered by Shakespearean experts in Stratford-upon-Avon. The emphasis is on enjoying Shakespeare s work, as well as engaging with it from academic and theatrical points of view. Drawing on the unique resources available at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, the week-long seminar provides the participants with insights into the life of Shakespeare, having an opportunity to explore the places where he lived and worked. The Course offers an academic programme of pre-performance lectures and post-performance discussions led by scholars of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and the Shakespeare Institute who are committed to the provision of the highest quality educational experience for those who study, teach, or appreciate Shakespeare s works - as text or performance worldwide. The courses are augmented by classes with members of the RSC (including actors and voice coaches) and so bring Shakespeare as Text and Shakespeare as Theatre into dialogue with each other. Delegates are able to explore new teaching methods, attend performances including Julius Caesar, The Winter s Tale and As You Like It, discuss theatre with the actors and enjoy workshops that approach teaching Shakespeare in a dynamic and exciting way. All classes will take place at the Shakespeare Centre, Henley Street, Stratford-upon-Avon. Background Inaugurated in 2007, the ESU and Shakespeare Birthplace Trust s Shakespeare Study Course is aimed principally at those who are in a position to strengthen cultural links between Britain and their own country through visits and exchanges. In practice, this has meant teachers of a range of subjects in the Humanities at both secondary and tertiary levels, students and members of cultural organisations, many of whom are directly involved with the running of the English-Speaking Union s overseas networks. As well as improving their knowledge of British culture and history, the week-long residential study course allows participants to share their experiences and cultures through the shared medium of the English language. The fact that the course was taking place in Stratford, itself, was very important. It gave us the feeling of Shakespeare times and the theatrical atmosphere everywhere we were. To me, as a Spanish speaker, it was also important that we, being so different, could all communicate through the English language and the appreciation of Shakespeare theatre. Pamela Melendez, Chile We were extremely fortunate to see excellent productions and to have a programme organised for us which included such eminent speakers and presenters the quality of all sessions was excellent. Noel Ensoll, Canterbury Shakespeare in Stratford courses include bed and breakfast accommodation, all lectures, classes, theatre tickets and excursions. The ESU does not cover travel costs to and from Stratford. Applicants should contact Gillian Parker for an application form which should be returned with a letter of support. Candidates should either be studying (at degree/ post-graduate level), teaching or have an otherwise demonstrable interest in Shakespeare.
Prog RS Te a Mrs V Ch air Co mm del eg 4.0 0 Vis tt Sun. 02 Aug Mon. 03 Aug Tues. 04 Aug We d Wolfson Hall 10.00-10.30 Introduction to the Course by Dr Nick Walton 10.30-11.00 Coffee Q eee 9.3 MORNING Arrival to London Check into Bankside House, London for one night 9.30 10.00 Introduction by Gillian Parker, Head of Cultural Programmes, at Dartmouth House, International Headquarters of The English-Speaking Union 11.00-12.00 Workshop led by Centre of Speech and Debate 12.00 Group Photo 11.00-12.00 Shakespeare and Stratford by Dr Roger Pringle Po st P The W Wa to 10. 300 Cof fe 11 000 RS C Win t Wa to AFTERNOON 12.15 Tour of Dartmouth House 12.30-2.00 Lunch provided by ESU Director-General of the ESU will give words of welcome 2.00 Free time in London 12.30-2.00 Lunch (Sandwiches provided by SBT) 2.00-3.00 Lecture on The Winter s Tale given by Dr Nick Walton 3.00-3.30 Tea 3.30-4.30 Professor Stanley Wells CBE will speak on Is it True What They Say About Shakespeare 12 000 Lu c SB T 1.0 Lu
gramme Sun. 02 Aug Mon. 03 Aug Tues. 04 Aug We d. MORNING Arrival to London Check into Bankside House, London for one night 9.30 10.00 Introduction by Gillian Parker, Head of Cultural Programmes, at Dartmouth House, International Headquarters of The English-Speaking Union 11.00-12.00 Workshop led by Centre of Speech and Debate 12.00 Group Photo Wolfson Hall 10.00-10.30 Introduction to the Course by Dr Nick Walton 10.30-11.00 Coffee 11.00-12.00 Shakespeare and Stratford by Dr Roger Pringle Qu eee n 9.3 0 Po st P The W Wal to 10. 300 Cof fe 11. 000 RS C Win te Wal to AFTERNOON 12.15 Tour of Dartmouth House 12.30-2.00 Lunch provided by ESU Director-General of the ESU will give words of welcome 2.00 Free time in London 12.30-2.00 Lunch (Sandwiches provided by SBT) 2.00-3.00 Lecture on The Winter s Tale given by Dr Nick Walton 3.00-3.30 Tea 3.30-4.30 Professor Stanley Wells CBE will speak on Is it True What They Say About Shakespeare 12. 000 Lun ch SB T) 1.0 0 Lunc RSC Te a Mrs V Ch air Co mm del eg 4.0 0
Academic Speakers The ESU is honoured to welcome the following distinguished speakers at the Shakespeare in Stratford Study Course 2009. Professor Stanley Wells CBE Professor Stanley Wells CBE is Chairman of the Trustees of Shakespeare s Birthplace, Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies of the University of Birmingham, Honorary Emeritus Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. His books include Literature and Drama; Royal Shakespeare: Studies of Four Major Productions at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre; Modernizing Shakespeare s Spelling; Re-editing Shakespeare for the Modern Reader; and Shakespeare: the Poet and his Plays. He edited A Midsummer Night s Dream, Richard II, and The Comedy of Errors for the New Penguin Shakespeare and King Lear for the Oxford Shakespeare. He was for nearly twenty years the editor of the annual Shakespeare Survey, and writes for the TLS and other publications. He has edited The New Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies and is General Editor (with Gary Taylor) of The Complete Oxford Shakespeare and co-author of William Shakespeare: A Textual Companion. His most recent books are Shakespeare in the Theatre: An Anthology of Criticism; The Oxford Dictionary of Shakespeare: The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare (edited with Michael Dobson); Shakespeare For All Time; Looking for Sex in Shakespeare; Shakespeare & Co., Is It True What they Say About Shakespeare?, Shakespeare s Sonnets, and Coffee with Shakespeare (the last two co-authored with Paul Edmondson). He was awarded a CBE in 2007 for services to literature. Dr Penny Freedman Dr Penny Freedman studied Classics at St Hilda s College, Oxford and taught in schools in London and Kent before taking an MA in Linguistics at the University of Kent and writing her PhD thesis at the Shakespeare Institute (University of Birmingham). Until 2002, she taught Literary Linguistics and Stylistics at the University of Kent, combining her academic work with acting and directing at the Gulbenkian Theatre in Canterbury. Her research interest continues to be the relation of text to performance and in 2003 2005 she conducted a British Academy-funded research project with postgraduate students at the Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, and actors from the Royal Shakespeare Company. She was on the editorial team of the RSC Complete Works, published in 2007, and her book, Power and Passion in Shakespeare s Pronouns: interrogating you and thou, came out in March 2007. As one half of Judith Shakespeare, she has recently co-written Love s Labour s Won, to be premiered in 2008. Dr Roger Pringle Dr Roger Pringle was formerly Director of The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, before his retirement in Autumn 2007 after many years working for the Trust. He combines a special knowledge of the social background of Shakespeare s time with an interest in his plays. His publications include Queen Elizabeth I, Poems for Shakespeare, Portrait of a Stratford Year, Poems of Warwickshire, and he has co-edited the selected proceedings of two World Shakespeare Congresses. Poems of his have appeared in various publications and he was formerly Director of the annual Stratford-upon-Avon Poetry Festival. Dr Paul Edmondson Dr Paul Edmondson is Head of Learning at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, an Honorary Fellow of The Shakespeare Institute, and an Honorary Fellow of The Society for Teachers of Speech and Drama. He has lectured on Shakespeare in France, Germany, Norway, Hungary, Rumania, and the United States. He is co-supervisory general editor of the New Penguin Shakespeare and has produced a new introduction to Richard II for the series. He is co-author (with Stanley Wells) of Shakespeare s Sonnets for Oxford University Press (2004) and of Coffee with Shakespeare (April, 2008). His book on Twelfth Night was published in the Palgrave Shakespeare Handbooks series (2005). He is also Director of the Stratford-upon-Avon Poetry Festival. Dr Nick Walton Dr Nick Walton is a Lecturer in Shakespeare Studies at The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. He obtained his MA and PhD from the Shakespeare Institute, and has taught at the University of Warwick. As Executive Secretary to the International Shakespeare Association he helped organise the Eighth World Shakespeare Congress in Brisbane, Australia in 2006, and is currently working toward the 2011 Congress to be held in Prague. He regularly reviews Shakespearian productions, and he has written introductory material for the New Penguin editions of Timon of Athens and Love s Labour s Lost, as well as contributing a chapter on Glen Byam Shaw to the book Director s Shakespeare.
The Plays The delegates of the 2009 Shakespeare in Stratford Study T Course will watch the following RSC productions at the Courtyard Theatre, Stratford. The Winter s Tale The Winter s Tale directed by David Farr. Leontes is the man with the perfect life. Powerful, wealthy and surrounded by a loving family, he should be content, but instead he is ill at ease with the world around him. Isolated by a destructive jealousy, he lashes out at those closest to him, losing his wife and son and abandoning his daughter in distant Bohemia. Sixteen years later, having grown up in a pastoral idyll, Leontes daughter falls in love with a young visitor, setting in motion a chain of events that could eventually reunite their scattered family. In The Winter s Tale Shakespeare strips away the trappings of a man s success in a bewitchingly beautiful exploration of what constitutes true happiness. Newly appointed RSC Associate Director David Farr returns to the RSC following his productions of Julius Caesar (2004) and Coriolanus (2003). Currently Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, David adapted and directed The UN Inspector for the National Theatre. The Winter s Tale begins the next RSC long ensemble. This company of actors will perform all of the plays in this season, going on to build a repertoire over the next two years. As You Like It As You Like It directed by Michael Boyd. When two young people fall in love they are unable to act on their impulse. Uncertain of their standing in court and fearing for their lives, Rosalind and Orlando are forced into exile in the Forest of Arden only to become entangled in a beguiling game of love, lust and mistaken identity. One of Shakespeare s great comedies, As You Like It subverts the traditional rules of romance, confusing gender roles, nature and politics in a play that reflects on how bewildering yet utterly pleasurable life can be. RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd directs the new RSC Ensemble in As You Like It. This acting company will work together for over two years, and follow the critical acclaim and popularity of The Histories Ensemble, also directed by Michael, who recently concluded their two-year residency in The Courtyard Theatre and completed a sell-out run at London s Roundhouse. Julius Caesar Julius Caesar directed by Lucy Bailey. As Julius Caesar s strength and popularity look set to propel him to the imperial throne, those closest to him act to prevent what they fear will become a dictatorship. But the brutal assassination of one man unleashes a tide of violence that will drag thousands into a bloody civil war. A masterpiece of political powerplay and manipulation, Julius Caesar examines the conflict between one man s ambition and the good of the state. Director Lucy Bailey joins the RSC for the first time. Lucy s recent credits include Timon of Athens and Titus Andronicus for Shakespeare s Globe as well as work with Chichester Festival Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and the National Theatre, where her acclaimed production of Baby Doll played before transferring to the West End. Other Shakespeare productions include Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night s Dream for the Royal Exchange Theatre. She also directed the West Yorkshire Playhouse and West End hit The Postman Always Rings Twice with a cast including Val Kilmer.
Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Shakespeare Birthplace Trust The Birthplace Trust has three core objectives; to promote in the every part of the world the appreciation and study of the plays and other works of William Shakespeare and general advancements of Shakespearian knowledge to maintain and preserve the Shakespeare Birthplace properties for the benefit of the nation to provide and maintain for the benefit of the nation a museum and library of books, manuscripts, records of historic interest, pictures, photographs and objects of antiquity with particular, but not exclusive reference to William Shakespeare, his life, works and times Formed in 1847 with the purchase of Shakespeare s Birthplace, the Trust has since acquired four other houses relating to Shakespeare, for which we care for the benefit of the nation. We also care for Harvard House, home of the Museum of British Pewter. www.esu.org 273136 www.shakespeare.org Registered charity no. Registered charity no. 209302