The Play's The Thing
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Format: Online masterclass Audience: All Teacher Directors Time: 3:30pm-5:00pm Dates: Between 21st September – 30th September (Dates are allocated to Theatre Festival school's schedules but you can attend as many different sessions as you like.) Explore the play beyond the page. These dynamic online masterclasses invite you to dive into the themes, ideas and creative possibilities at the heart of Shakespeare’s plays. Led by Coram Shakespeare Schools Artistic Associates and industry experts, each session brings together Teacher Directors with professional theatre-makers.In these sessions, these actors and directors will share:
Ready to book? Click on your chosen masterclass below to register your place.
Monday 21 September
Much Ado About Nothing and other Mature Comedies, including Merry Wives of Windsor; Twelfth Night; As You Like It 
John Heffernan
Actor and CSS Patron John is known for playing the lead roles in The National Theatre's Edward III, RSC's Oppenheimer and Young Vic's Macbeth. He has gained multiple Ian Charleson Award nominations for his roles in King Lear, Richard III and Major Barbara (winner, third prize). TV credits include: Luther, Dickensian, Ripper Street, The Hollow Crown and Dracula. John first discovered his love for Shakespeare through The Animated Tales (produced by our founder Chris) and starred in SSF's fundraiser The Trial of Hamlet as Hamlet. 
John Lightbody
CSS Artistic Associate and Actor John is an actor, voiceover artist and freelance director. Among his many classical roles he has played Richard III, Benvolio and the Ghost of Christmas Present. He has delivered Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation’s workshops for over ten years, and most recently in the role of Senior Artistic Associate has overseen the devising of Teacher Workshops.
Tuesday 22nd September
Hamlet and other Tragedies, including Othello and King Lear 
Poppy Miller
Actor and Director Poppy trained at the Webber Douglas Academy. On stage she has worked with Ed Hall, Michael Grandage, Laurence Boswell, Rupert Goold, Hettie McDonald, Sean Holmes, David Farr, and John Tiffany. She created the role of Ginny Potter in the original West End cast of Harry Potter & The Cursed Child, for which she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the What’s On Stage Awards 2016. She reprised the role on Broadway. Poppy reunited with director Rupert Goold and actor Tobias Menzies in The Hunt at the Almeida Theatre, after playing Ophelia to Menzies’ Hamlet, and again in Goold’s 2026 Hamlet, this time playing Gertrude alongside Raymond Coulthard as Claudius. Film credits include The Second Best Marigold Hotel, and Sex and Drugs and Rock & Roll. Her numerous television credits include Line of Duty, A Song for Jenny, Endeavour, as well as series regulars in Mapp & Lucia, Golplated and The Commander. Her recent credits are The Syndicate, The Gathering, and Such Brave Girls. She recently plated guest lead in Death in Paradise, and filmed a regular role in the upcoming Britbox series Tommy & Tuppence. 
Samuel Blenkin
Actor Samuel Blenkin currently stars as the megalomaniac billionaire antagonist Boy Kavalier in Noah Hawley’s new Alien: Earth for Disney / FX, produced by Ridley Scott. The series just launched to huge critical acclaim, having premiered at Comic Con! He recently completed a highly praised run playing Hamlet for the RSC in Hamlet: Hail To The Thief, a collaboration with Radiohead, and stars opposite Myha'la Herrold leading Black Mirror: Loch Henry. Blenkin gave such a stirring performance in his guest star role on the hit FX series Atlanta opposite Donald Glover, that Bong Joon Ho approached him for a role in Mickey 17 alongside Robert Pattinson. He also stars in the upcoming feature Misper opposite Emily Carey, and can be seen in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, and Misbehaviour opposite Keira Knightly. Samuel played a major role in Sky and AMC’s historical psycho-drama Mary & George, opposite Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine, as well as The Witcher: Blood Origins & Sandman for Netflix, Dracula & Peaky Blinders for BBC, and Pennyworth for Epix. He's very established in the UK theatre scene, having led the National Theatre's Ocean at The End Of The Lane, starred opposite Simon Russell Beale in Bach & Sons, directed by Nick Hytner, and starred as Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter: The Cursed Child. 
Sheryl Malcom
CSS Artistic Associate and Theatre Practictioner Sheryl is a Theatre Practitioner, who has over twenty years’ experience as a facilitator, director, devisor, Theatre-In-Education actor and project producer. She enjoyed her role as Participation Manager and Youth Director after graduating Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Sheryl has delivered programmes for the Young Vic, Donmar Warehouse and Marlowe Theatre. Primarily her work is with young people aged 8-24 years and she loves witnessing pupils’ confidence develop whilst performing text. Sheryl believes that the exploration of drama encourages creativity, empathy and curiosity.
Wednesday 23rd September
Macbeth 
Simon Godwin
Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. Simon is the Artistic Director of The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington D.C. and for former Associate Director of the National Theatre. Simon began directing at Cambridge University, where he studied English Literature. He began his career as Associate Director at the Royal Theatre in Northampton, serving under Rupert Goold and at The Bristol Old Vic, where he was the deputy to Tom Morris. In 2009 he became Associate Director of The Royal Court in London, where he directed seven world premieres by writers including Lucy Kirkwood, Nick Payne and Anya Reiss. Awarded the inaugural Evening Standard/Burberry Award for an Emerging Director in 2012, Simon began a deep relationship with the Royal Shakespeare Company, directing The Two Gentlemen of Verona followed by Hamlet, with Paapa Essiedu, the first actor of color to play the role in the company’s history, and a re-gendered Timon of Athens starring Kathryn Hunter. When Rufus Norris became Artistic Director of the National Theatre in 2015, Simon joined his team of permanent Associates. His shows at the NT have included Man and Superman with Ralph Fiennes; Twelfth Night with Tamsin Greig; Anthony and Cleopatra with Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo (both winning 2019 Evening Standard Awards for Best Actor and Actress) and Hansard, with Alex Jennings and Lindsey Duncan. In 2021 Simon directed his first film - Romeo and Juliet - with Jessie Buckley and Josh O’Connor. Co-produced by the NT, Sky Arts and PBS, the film won the 2021 Golden Prix, the top prize, at The Golden Prague Festival; The 2021 Digital Prize at The Stage Awards and was selected by The Guardian, The New York Times and The LA Times as one their top ten digital events of 2021. As Artistic Director, Simon has diversified and revitalized STC, producing work such The Amen Corner by James Baldwin (one of The Washington Post’s ten best shows of 2020) and a new collaboration with Britney Spears, Once Upon A One More Time, which became the most popular show in the company’s thirty five year history. During lockdown, hosted over fifty episodes of The Shakespeare Hour Live, a weekly broadcast featuring guests such as Helen Mirren, Julie Taymor, Claire Danes, Liev Shreiber and Adjoah Andoh. In 2022 Simon directed Much Ado About Nothing at the National Theatre in London, and later that same year, presented a new adaptation at STC set in a Washington newsroom. In 2023 he directed Patrick Page as King Lear and made his opera debut with Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette at Washington National Opera. Recent productions at STC have included an immersive production of Macbeth with Ralph Fiennes and an acclaimed version of Othello, with Wendell Pierce. 
Richard Weinman
CSS Artistic Associate and Theatre Maker Rich is a theatre-maker, director, facilitator and teacher, based in London. He is an associate of the National Youth Theatre and CSSF and regularly facilitates workshops and projects for organisations including the Lyric, National Theatre, drama schools and charities. He has a strong background in devising and working with new writing and is interested in theatre as a way to social inclusion. He has recently directed The Video Store at the End of the World, working with James Fritz and Indi-rock band The Howl and the Hum.
Thursday 24th September
Henry V and other Histories, including Richard III 
Alfred Enoch
Actor and CSS Patron Alfred Enoch began his acting career as a child, playing the role of Dean Thomas in the Harry Potter films. He has gone on to work on both stage and screen, taking on major roles in Shakespeare productions including Edgar in King Lear at the Royal Exchange. More recent credits include BBC'S Troy, the Wyndham Theatre's critically-acclaimed run of two-man play Red and the Young Vic's production Tree. 
Iain Jones
CSS Artistic Associate and Actor Iain is an actor, director and practitioner. As a director he has worked at the Churchill Theatre, Bromley, Greenwich Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre and Edinburgh Festival. He was introduced to Shakespeare at school and loved it. “He's a great storyteller and takes us on adventures that are full of extraordinary characters.”
Friday 25th September
Early comedies including A Midsummer Night's Dream. To also include: The Comedy of Errors 
Eleanor Rhode
Actor Coming soon! 
Ellie Kettleton
CSS Facilitator Ellie has worked for Chickenshed, an inclusive theatre company based in North London, directing Youth Theatre and Children's Theatre productions, developing outreach programmes for young audiences, facilitating sessions for all age groups and maintaining the membership of the Young Company. She has worked with Brit Kids at the Brit School in Croydon, and has worked for Lost Text/Found Space, a company based in and inspired by the locality of Peckham. She has co-created and performed in a variety of productions for families and young audiences across London and continues to work as a one-to-one support and part of creative teams at Chickenshed. Ellie works with the Old Vic as a facilitator for their Schools Club and Take the Lead programmes, with Little Creatives Theatre School, and with Kit Theatre in their various Adventures in Learning.
Monday 28th September
The Tempest and other Romances, including A Winter's Tale 
Lucy Phelps
Actor Coming soon!
John Lightbody
CSS Artistic Associate and Actor John is an actor, voiceover artist and freelance director. Among his many classical roles he has played Richard III, Benvolio and the Ghost of Christmas Present. He has delivered Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation’s workshops for over ten years, and most recently in the role of Senior Artistic Associate has overseen the devising of Teacher Workshops.
Tuesday 29th September
Romeo and Juliet 
Paterson Joseph
CSS Patron, Actor, and Author Paterson is well known for performing the Bard's work, as seen in his award winning role as Oswald in King Lear and Dumaine in Love's Labour's Lost for the RSC in the early 90s. Theatre credits include: Sancho: An Act of Remembrance (Oxford Playhouse/Birmingham Rep/US Tour) and Julius Caesar (RSC). TV and Film credits include: Green Wing (Bafta Winner Pioneer Award, Talkback) and Paddington Bear (Marmalade Films). 
Kate Hughes
CSS Artistic Associate and Actor Kate (stage name Kate Middleton) is an actor based in London and originally from the West Midlands. She performs in theatre and on screen, and has a penchant for anything period.
Wednesday 30th September
Problem Plays, including Measure for Measure; Taming of the Shrew; Merchant of Venice 
Brian Mullin
CSS Artistic Associate and Writer Brian works as a writer, deviser and dramaturg. He studied Theatre at Yale and went on to research Elizabethan theatre at Oxford. He loves Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation's approach to Shakespeare, letting young people jump into the imagination of the world's greatest dramatist.
Wednesday 30th September
Julius Caesar and other Roman plays, including Antony and Cleopatra 
Jordana Golbourn
Community Theatre Maker Jordana is a Community Theatre Maker. She is a collaborative artist driven by play, curiosity and care, directing, producing and facilitating professional and inclusive projects with community artists that take place in a variety of settings including theatres, prisons, women’s centres, schools and YMCAs. She has over 15 years' experience working for companies such as Almeida Theatre, Clean Break, Donmar Warehouse, Lyric Hammersmith and Young Vic Theatre. From August 2026 she will be Associate Director for Julius Caesar at Royal Shakespeare Company.
For teachers taking part in the 26/27 Theatre Festival: Sessions are scheduled for teachers taking part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival. Book your space by pre registering using the links above. |