The COVID19 pandemic has brought chaos to the entire world. We are advised to go on home quarantine and physical distancing to slow down the further spread of the virus.
Also, different establishments like bars, restaurants, malls, and many more are temporarily closed.
Another huge impact it brought was the temporary suspension of classes and the closure of schools around the world.
While few countries proposed limited face-to-face classes, most countries have completely suspended classes as preventive measures.
Thus, these countries are trying to implement virtual learning, home-schooling, online classes, or whatever it’s called. Though it may look like a temporary solution, the idea still faces bunches of “what if’s?”
People are uniting!
Non-profit organizations, people, companies, local groups, and even celebrities are stepping up to help the children cope with the new idea of online classes.
In the United Kingdom, celebrities and theatre performers are helping students with their homework. Yes, you read it right, but it’s no ordinary homework questions because these are questions based on Shakespeare’s famous plays.
The great William Shakespeare!
William Shakespeare is an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is also known as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s greatest dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the “Bard of Avon” (or simply “the Bard”).
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, in April 1564. He married Anne Hathaway at the age of 18 and had three children, Susanna and twins Hamnet and Judith. Unfortunately, he died on 23 April 1616 at the age of 52.
He left the entire world with what we can consider as the best plays of all time.
Below are Shakespeare’s top 10 best plays as listed by Time Out.
1. Hamlet
2. Macbeth
3. Midsummer Night’s Dream
4. Much Ado About Nothing
5. King Lear
6. Othello
7. Twelfth Night
8. The Tempest
9. Romeo and Juliet
10. The Merchant of Venice
Out of this greatness, The Royal Shakespeare Company was born, and they have begun something beautiful- ‘Homework Help’
David Tennant, Sir Patrick Stewart, and Tamsin Greig are big names among the many famous personalities joining the Homework Help initiative being run by the RSC.
Their mission is to help school children who are struggling to understand Shakespeare.
During the home quarantine period, these names and many others who have performed in Shakespeare’s plays will join forces in answering any Shakespeare-related questions coming from students.
With this initiative, students can email their Shakespeare-related questions to [email protected]. They can also share their questions using the hashtag #RSCHomeworkHelp on Twitter or Instagram.
Questions will be answered via video recording or voice message from the actors. This has been an on-going project by the RSC, and plenty of questions have already been answered and can be found on their Youtube channel called RSC Shakespeare Learning Zone.
Jacqui O’Hanlon, RSC director of education, said:
“As children and parents across the UK adjust to their new virtual classrooms, this gives us a new challenge and opportunity to extend our support and to work with artists from the RSC’s performance history. They will answer any questions young people want answered about Shakespeare and theatre generally.”
Artistic director Gregory Doran added:
“Although the RSC is in lockdown and operating with a skeleton team, it is important that we continue to offer support to students, families and teachers across the country.”
The RSC is encouraging people to consider giving their kind donations to its home learning program to support this work. To know more about the RSC’s programs and activities, you may visit their official website and Facebook account.
Watch the short introduction of the Homework Help program by the RSC in the video below.
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