Shakespeare in Song is an immersive creative course exploring the music, drama, and poetry of William Shakespeare.

Participants engage with Shakespeare’s texts through the songs present in his plays, discovering how music and theatre can illuminate timeless themes.

At its heart, Shakespeare in Song is about bringing words to life: exploring the rhythm, emotion, and musicality of Shakespeare’s work, and discovering how performance deepens understanding and connection with both text and audience. The course also engages with contemporary themes of environmental awareness, cultural diversity, and inclusivity, which are explored creatively through the musical and lyrical content of Shakespeare’s plays.

Approach

This project combines music, dramatic interpretation, and creative experimentation. Participants perform and dramatize selected songs from Shakespeare’s plays, guided by original arrangements created for the Shakespeare in Song lesson-concert. The workshop encourages exploration of character, story, and poetic language, using both voice and movement to interpret the plays in dynamic, memorable ways.

Sessions include:
• Musical performances of Shakespeare’s songs, integrated with dramatic interpretation
• Dramatic exercises exploring character, emotion, and collaborative storytelling
• Creative exercises reflecting on environmental, social, and cultural themes through the songs
• Collaborative scene work enhanced by song
• Guided discussion on text, rhythm, and interpretation

The structure is adaptable — it can take the form of a 5-day immersive course in the Verona/Venice region or be delivered in other formats and locations to suit schools, organisations, or cultural programmes.

Themes

• Music and Meaning: exploring how Shakespeare’s songs amplify text and emotion
• Character and Voice: connecting emotion, expression, and song
• Storytelling through Song: combining theatre and music to tell Shakespeare’s stories
• Environmental Awareness: engaging creatively with nature through song
• Cultural Diversity and Inclusivity: celebrating difference through collaborative interpretation of thematic plays and songs
• Collaboration and Presence: performing together with attention, awareness, and musicality

Outcomes

By engaging with Shakespeare in Song, participants will:
• Gain a deeper appreciation of Shakespeare’s poetry and musicality
• Develop skills in performance, singing, and dramatic interpretation
• Explore environmental, cultural, and social themes through Shakespeare’s songs
• Learn to combine music and theatre as tools for storytelling
• Create a shared performance inspired by Shakespeare’s works and contemporary values

Format

Shakespeare in Song can be delivered in a variety of formats, including:
• 5-day immersive course in Verona/Venice
• Half-day or full-day workshops
• Multi-day intensives in other locations
• Lesson-concert residencies for schools or cultural organisations

Each iteration maintains the same core aim: to bring Shakespeare’s songs to life, transforming text into living music and performance while reflecting values of inclusivity, diversity, and environmental awareness.

Dates: Flexible
Location: Verona/Venice region, Italy (5-day course) or elsewhere for other formats