Joanna Aulton
Meet Joanna Aulton, our Learning Administrator – Shakespeare Week and Hubs
Name
Joanna Aulton
What is your job title?
Learning Administrator – Shakespeare Week and Hubs
What kind of things does your job typically entail?
My role involves helping to plan and deliver Shakespeare Week, including working with our partner organisations to organise events. I also update the resources available on our website and ensure they are all working correctly. As part of the Hubs team, I support the schools with their events and outreach workshops.
Why do you think learning about Shakespeare and his work is important to us today?
Despite being written long ago, the themes of Shakespeare’s work are still incredibly relevant today and we see his influence everywhere in modern culture. Through learning about him, children are introduced to wonderful story telling and imagery which inspires them in their own work.
His use of language was so creative it encourages children to have fun with words and explore word play with a freedom they don’t often experience. Having taught Shakespeare’s work many times, it always astounds the children how many of the idioms we use today originated from his work!
What is your favourite Shakespeare related experience- at SBT or elsewhere?
I went to see Richard II performed at the Old Vic in 2005 which was an amazing experience. It was the first Shakespeare play I had seen performed since studying his work for A-level and I was astounded at the ease with which it was updated for a modern context. It really made me reflect on how the themes of his plays are timeless and this has had a huge impact on how I have taught Shakespeare in own classroom.
What are the challenges, do you think, in bringing Shakespeare to life for contemporary audiences?
There can be the view that Shakespeare is boring, or the language is too difficult to understand, often because of the experiences people have had of studying him at school. These views can be passed on to their children who can then have very limited exposure to his work. However, Shakespeare’s work covers so many different aspects of the human experience and there are so many beautiful, age-appropriate resources available it’s just a case of choosing which one to hook them in! I have had amazing experiences seeing children reintroduce their parents to Shakespeare through their own enthusiasm.
Finally- what is your favourite joke? Doesn’t have to be Shakespearean…
Which Shakespeare play do ghosts like best?
Romeo and Ghoul-iet!