Curriculum Portal

neurologyYou need to know

• William Shakespeare was a significant playwright whose work was performed in Elizabethan theatres, often using open-air performance, limited scenery, thrust staging, and close audience proximity.
• Heightened gestures and strong vocal projection can be used as classroom performance choices, but they are not evidence of one uniform Elizabethan acting style.
• The Globe Theatre was a famous open-air playhouse where many of Shakespeare's plays were performed.
• A thrust stage extends into the audience, encouraging interaction and visibility from multiple angles.
• The cheapest spectators, sometimes called groundlings, stood in the yard, while more expensive seating was available in the galleries.
• More expensive seats were available in covered galleries, offering spectators shelter and a clearer view of the stage.
• Elizabethan theatre audiences were socially mixed and responsive, and spectators could react audibly by laughing, cheering, or calling out.
• Sumptuary laws governed what people could wear based on their class, influencing costuming and character status on stage.
• Women did not act in the professional commercial playing companies for which Shakespeare wrote, so boys or young men performed the female roles.
• Hamlet is a tragedy and contains themes such as madness, revenge, death, murder, and family conflict.
• The plot of Hamlet centres around his father's murder, the appearance of a ghost, and Hamlet's descent into feigned or real madness.
• Hamlet's use of soliloquy helps the audience understand his inner thoughts and motivations.
• Character objectives guide an actor's performance and influence how they respond in different scenes.
• Spontaneous improvisation differs from polished performance as there is no planning time; both require focus, creativity, and staying in role.
• Tension can be built in performance through strategies like stillness, music, slow motion, lighting choices, and character reactions.
• Music and soundscapes can enhance mood and atmosphere in performance.
• At the end of Shakespearean tragedies, many key characters die, creating a dramatic climax that satisfies the audience's expectations.

• Perform a scene using expressive physical and vocal characterisation as a classroom choice, adapting the performance to a thrust stage and close audience proximity.
• Create and perform scenes using expressive characterisation, focusing on how tension develops within a scene.
• Perform both spontaneous and polished improvisation, using clear objectives and remaining in role.
• Use voice, body language, facial expression, and movement to convey a character's emotional state and intentions.
• Interpret and respond to key quotes and character motivations, such as 'To put an antic disposition on' and 'Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.'
• Explore a character's mental state and relationships, particularly Hamlet's with Gertrude, Claudius, and Ophelia.
• Devise dramatic scenes, such as the stabbing of Polonius, the Mousetrap play, and the final death scene, that engage an audience through structure, tension, and style.
• Use mood music and sound to enhance dramatic impact and build tension in performance.
• Participate in circle of relationship activities and thought-tracking to explore multiple character perspectives.
• Collaborate in groups to plan, rehearse, and perform scenes, offering and receiving peer feedback.
• Evaluate their own and others' performances using subject-specific vocabulary, identifying what was effective and what could be improved.
• Justify their evaluation points by explaining how a choice or performance moment impacted the audience.