Shakespeare for Young People Productions, Versions and Adaptations

The search to find engaging and inspiring ways to introduce children and young adults to Shakespeare has resulted in a wide variety of approaches to producing and adapting Shakespeare's plays and the stories and characters at their heart. This book explores the range of productions, versions, and adaptations of Shakespeare aimed particularly at children or young people. It is the only comprehensive overview of its kind, engaging with a range of genres - drama, prose narrative, television and film - and including both British and international examples. Abigail Rokison covers stage and screen productions, shortened versions, prose narratives and picture books (including Manga), animations and original novels, plays and films rewriting Shakespeare. The book combines an informative guide to the productions and adaptations discussed with critical analysis of their relative strengths. It also has a practical focus including quotes from directors, actors, writers, teachers and young people who worked on or experienced the projects discussed.

Abigail Rokison is Lecturer in Drama and English in the Education Faculty in Cambridge and Director of Studies in English and Drama at Homerton College, Cambridge, UK. She is Chair of the trustees of the British Shakespeare Association.

Introduction \ 1. Full-scale Stage Productions for Young People - Shakespeare's Globe: 'Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bankd' - Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing and Macbeth \ 2. Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, Michael Almereyda's Hamlet and Christine Edzard's The Children's A Midsummer Nights Dream \ 3. 'Shakespeare's Stories': Prose Narratives and Picture Books \ 4. Shakespeare and the Graphic Novel \ 5. Cut-down Stage Versions for Young Children \ 6. Shakespeare: The Animated Tales \ 7. Novel Adaptations of Shakespeare: Hamlet \ 8. Original Plays Based on Shakespeare \ 9. Film Adaptations of Shakespeare - 'Romeo and Juliet the cartoon' and 'High School Dreams' \ Bibliography \ Index