Wunderbar Festival Workshops: Shakespearean Public Announcements

Sunday 18th October
Saturday 24th October

Creative writers... where art thou?

How would you like to spend a day working with the Royal Shakespeare Company to create a Shakespearean Public Announcement?

A unique collaboration between Fierce Earth, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Wunderbar Festival is bringing Shakespeare's language bang up to date by creating a series of everyday public announcements influenced by Shakespeare's plays, themes, characters and verse.

'Fancy free', 'mum's the word', and 'all that glitters is not gold'... The English language is full of Shakespeare phrases that we use everyday but his famed style has never been turned into public announcements before - the sort of announcements you hear everyday on stations, in shops and shopping centres, at football grounds, in theatres and lots of other places as you go about your daily business. We're offering you the chance to play a part in changing that. You'll learn the tricks and idioms of Shakespeare's language from an RSC practitioner and a skilled performance poet to transform whatever you want to say into a broadcast quality Shakespearean Public Announcement.

Here are two examples we thought of:

Young Barton hath scored! Such a pass sublime,
Let us get in the pies, as it strikes half-time!

Here stops the Gateshead train at platform nine,
Thou will find first class coaches down the line.

Can you do better? You never know - the announcement you create could be recorded by an illustrious RSC actor and heard in Newcastle's shopping centres, theatres, bus stations and maybe even at the Saturday afternoon footie.

Workshops will be held at:

Seven Stories, 30 Lime Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 2PQ
on Sunday 18th October 10:30am - 3:30pm for ages 11 - 15

Theatre Royal, 100 Grey Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 6BR
on Saturday 24th October 10:30 - 3.30pm for adults of all ages (from 16+)

Places on the workshop cost £7.50 each. (The Seven Stories workshop includes child's entrance fee to Seven Stories.) Places are limited, booking is essential. Please book your place via:

The Wunderbar Festival Office at: Dance City, Temple Street, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 4BR Tel: 0191 261 0505

And if you can't make the workshops, you can send your own ideas via the open call competition - submit online here.

Shakespearean Public Announcements coincides with the RSC's Newcastle Residency (20 Oct - 7 Nov) and Wunderbar Festival (6 - 15 Nov).

Wunderbar is a dynamic new festival of contemporary performances, visual art and extraordinary happenings. Experience intriguing encounters and stop-you-in-your-tracks moments in unusual, everyday and traditional spaces across Newcastle, Gateshead and the North East. Find the full programme and how to get involved at www.wunderbarfestival.co.uk.