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Shakespeare in performance

Why is this programme unique?

The Shakespeare Adventure Programme is a self-contained summer school program. However, it runs in parallel to, and is an integral part of, the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival – established in 1988. This means that in addition to being taught by the expert tutors on the program, students will also have access to, and be taught by, the professional actors and directors of the Festival. The plays you will study on the course will mirror the program of the Festival, so while you are working on your own roles within the plays studied, you will also be able to see those roles performed by professional actors in the Festival. Imagine preparing to play Hamlet or Lady Macbeth and having professional actors on hand who are currently playing those roles to help you!

There is also a soliloquy strand to the programme, in which you will – under the expert guidance of one of the Festival directors – prepare a Shakespeare soliloquy for performance in a studio setting, in full costume, which will be recorded onto DVD.

Our teaching staff

All Faculty members are qualified teachers and have many years of teaching experience as well as involvement in The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival; all are highly acclaimed professional practitioners in their own areas of expertise, whether as actors or directors.

A few encouraging words

I am delighted to be able to invite you to take part in the Cambridge Shakespeare Adventure, 2024.

It is no exaggeration to say that the cultural foundation of the English-speaking world lies in the Renaissance, and explicitly in the work of our language’s greatest poet and playwright, William Shakespeare. As the Director of CADA, but also as the Artistic Director of the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival, I have overseen the design of a unique artistic and cultural experience. There can be no better way to gain an understanding of English culture than to plunge into the world of Shakespeare and his plays. There can be no better place to study these works than in the stunning surroundings of the University of Cambridge, established several hundred years before Shakespeare’s birth.

But although Shakespeare’s works are undoubtedly stunning works of literature, they are not meant to be merely studied or read; they are to be experienced and performed, and so this programme offers a ‘learning by doing’ encounter in which the theory explored in the classroom is put into immediate practice in the workshop and rehearsal room, bringing the drama to life. Apart from developing your acting skills, students on the program will inevitably grow in self-esteem, self-confidence and develop excellent team-building skills.

Dr David Crilly, Director of CADA