Montpellier University Shakespeare Study Course in Stratford

Montpellier University
Shakespeare Study Course
in Stratford-upon-Avon
organised by the IRCL
Write to us at [email protected] if you wish to receive
information about the 2015 Montpellier Theatre course in
Stratford-upon-Avon,
and watch this webpage for more information.
Highlights of the 2014 course included: talks on 1 & 2 Henry IV, a voice class, a direc>ng workshop, a reviewing workship, a mee>ng with the all boys' actor group of King Edward IV School and their teacher/director, Mr Perry Mills, a visit of the building where Shakespeare studied as a boy (in the same school!), the plays at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre and The Swan Theatre, and, last but not least, a mee>ng with actor Alex Hassell, who played Prince Hal. The Shakespeare Centre, where the courses took place
Photo Gaëlle Ginestet
Rencontre du groupe avec le comédien Alex Hassell, qui a joué Prince Hal
Meeting with Alex Hassell, who plays Prince Hal
Photo Janice Valls-Russell
Une visite à King Edward IV School, l'école où étudia Shakespeare
A visit to King Edward IV School, the school where Shakespeare studied
Photo Janice Valls-Russell
La salle de classe où étudia
Shakespeare, encore utilisée pour
des cours aujourd'hui
Shakespeare's classroom, which is
still used for lessons
Photo Janice Valls-Russell
Photo Janice Valls-Russell
Anthony Sher (Falstaff) and Alex Hassell (Prince Hal), 1 Henry IV, dir. Gregory Doran, The
Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, photo courtesy of RSC/Kwame Lestrade
(a review is forthcoming in Cahiers Elisabéthains 86)
Photo RSC/Kwame Lestrade
Anthony Sher (Falstaff) and Nia Gwynne (Doll Tearsheet), 2 Henry IV, dir. Gregory Doran,
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, photo courtesy of RSC/Kwame
Lestrade (a review is forthcoming in Cahiers Elisabéthains 86)
Photo RSC/Kwame Lestrade
Sharon Small (Alice Arden) and Keir
Charles (Mosby), Arden of Faversham, dir.
Polly Findlay, The Swan Theatre, Stratfordupon-Avon, photo courtesy of RSC/Manuel
Harlan (a review is forthcoming in Cahiers
Elisabéthains 86)
Photo RSC/Manuel Harlan
The Avon river
Photo Gaëlle Ginestet
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre
Photo Gaëlle Ginestet
The theatres
Photo Chahra Beloufa
Photo Chahra Beloufa
Photo RSC/Peter Cook
Photo RSC/Peter Cook
Photo RSC/Stewart Hemley
@ Photo Laurane March
Students' comments
Ø  Un grand merci pour ce séjour réussi, plein de choses intéressantes et de rencontres
enrichissantes. Merci également au groupe : les échanges ont été supers, ouverts et
généreux.
Maggie Domon
Ø  The first talk, that captivated me, was given by Dr Paul Edmondson who introduced us to
Henry IV. His analysis, and choice of words and lines from the play enabled me to get
directly involved in the course. Dr Janice Valls Russell and Professor Florence March took
care of the whole group; their advice and support helped me feel at ease to participate in
the group discussions. Another discovery was to see performed at the Royal Shakespeare
Company theatre the plays we studied. The post-performance discussions were very
engaging and we could all express our impressions freely. Travelling to Stratford Upon
Avon with the Montpellier group is a memorable experience.
Chahra Beloufa
Ø  Merci beaucoup pour ce séjour à Stratford, les échanges étaient très enrichissants et les
pièces superbes. J’ai appris beaucoup de choses, je le referais avec plaisir l’année prochaine
et je le recommande à tous les étudiants ! Shakespeare est une source d'inspiration
inépuisable.
Clara Houssais
.../...
Students' comments
Ø  Stratford seminar 2014 – Why I’ll be going back to Stratford next year….
Can you wolf down a full English breakfast, digest a day’s worth of Shakespeare-oriented
talks and workshops, stomach a gory murder intrigue, guzzle a few beers in the infamous
Dirty Duck (a Black Swan in another life) while rubbing shoulders with a few actors…
and be ready to start again the next day? Then you will make the most of those few days
in Stratford-upon-Avon, as participant in the course organized by the IRCL (University of
Montpellier). England in May is lovely, and Stratford is a jewel, preserved thanks to its
famous playwright. Beamed houses, wattle and daub walls, postcards of Elizabethan
England. We were immensely lucky to visit the ancient guildhall of King Edward VI
School… where Shakespeare was a schoolboy, where the graven desks are witness to the
musings of centuries of school boys and where the pupils of today are reviving plays of
Shakespeare’s contemporaries. These young actors spoke openly of their anachronistic
experience: a company of boy actors performing today what may have been performed
400 years ago. This project is relatively recent and innovative, the talk and Q&A were an
enriching experience for students of Elizabethan drama.
Maggie Domon Pathy
.../...
Students' comments
Ø  Having the opportunity to get involved in such a course was a real chance. Indeed, as a
student working on Shakespeare, Stratford-upon-Avon was the ideal place to be.
The RSC work on the plays is amazing and some of us even had theatrical epiphanies.
These live stage performances were thrilling thanks to the shape of the thrust stages,
which are modelled on those of the Elizabethan theatres, and to the creativity of the
directors and the actors.
One of the greatest opportunities we also had was the meeting with one of the leading
actors, Alex Hassell. We could ask him questions about the RSC and his work as an actor.
We also bumped into the rest of the cast in the pub.
Among the workshops we were lucky enough to attend, the most impressive was the
directing workshop with Gemma Fairlie, who showed us how to tackle the Shakespearean
text from the perspective of an actor. Since we do know about Shakespeare in an
academic way, it was interesting and enriching to have the actor's point of view. I think it
is one of the main wonderful opportunities that this course allowed us to enjoy.
Camille Courbin
…/…
Students' comments
Ø  This was my second trip to Stratford-upon-Avon
Why did I go back?
I think, it is because of the quality of the lectures which are amazingly useful and
beneficial to me as a student. It provided me with some brand new critical tools to analyse
theatre and a historical and cultural background of the period, that helped me for my
third year courses on “Shakespearian” (or Early Modern) theatre.
The Post-Performance Discussion (PPD), a sort of brainstorming-debriefing, is a very
interesting and enriching moment. The lector asks everyone his/her feelings about the
play, the different things that we have enjoyed or disliked about the performance.
One of the coolest moments is at the Dirty Duck. This pub serves as PPMP (PostPerformance Meeting Point), a kind of rehearsal for the PPD, more relaxed, around an
English beer/cider, with most of the time, the possibility to talk with the actors (some of
whom also perform in various series and films, such as : Game of Thrones, Doctor Who,
Batman, etc).
Rémy Valéro
Photo Laurane March
organised by the IRCL
Write to us at [email protected] if you wish to receive
information about the 2015 Montpellier Theatre course in
Stratford-upon-Avon,
and watch this webpage for more information.