...In Stratford....obviously, where 30 year 10 pupils went in search of Romeo and Shakespeare on a sunny October Day....
As part of our understanding Shakespeare's language and context, we went to Shakespeare's birthplace where the girls were given a tour of both the museum and the house where Shakespeare was born and lived until he went to London as an adult to seek his fortune in the theatre. 
We also enjoyed a workshop on the aspects of entertainment for an Elizabethan audience in Romeo and Juliet. The functions of plays in a religious and violent society were to reflect life and amuse the citizens with light relief. Audiences went to 'hear' a play rather than delight in a visual feast and the London audience of the 1590s was one of the most theatre literate of any age. Of a population of 300,000, 100,000 Londoners would make their way out of the City walls, past Traitors' Gate, across the river to the liberalising air of Southwark on a regular basis and the theatres would compete for business with the bear pit!
The violence and tragedy taking place in the streets of Verona in Romeo and Juliet reflected the society of the time and the lovesick children caught up in an adult world still rings truths for teenagers today.
Thank you to Mrs Warnock and Mrs Hutchings.
BH
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