Shakespeare, History and Elizabethan Maths (or, Words and Numbers)
- Sylvia Morris
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
On 11 June 2026 from 1.30- 2.45pm, at Rother St Arts House in Stratford-upon-Avon the Club led this event that aimed to remove Shakespeare from the school curriculum to show pupils from local schools some different sides of Shakespeare, and to explain how local people have led celebrations of Shakespeare’s life and works in the town where he lived. Well over 100 students and their teachers attended from five local schools and those taking part received lots of positive feedback from them.
Performers and speakers included comperes Chloe Leonard and Elizabeth Sykes from the Shakespeare Institute, who held it all together with a series of humorous sketches featuring Shakespeare characters, a recorded welcome and rap of Sonnet 18 by Devon Glover (the Sonnet Man), a talk by Sylvia Morris and Nikki Pearson on the history of the Club including quotations from the poem that Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate Naomi Mba delivered on Shakespeare’s Birthday, Lizzie Hardy and Paul Curran on Shakespeare’s language, including Bernard Levin’s piece “Quoting Shakespeare”, and well-known author and broadcaster Rob Eastaway delivering an interactive piece on Shakespeare and numbers, complete with audience participation.
The performance was supported by Amanda Wood, Karolyn Brookes, Sue Cowan and Melvyn Brookes and Ian Pearson who managed front of house and took photographs, and several members of the club attended.
We were also delighted that our current President, Paul Edmondson, came along to support us, as did Ayub Khan and Katie Jeffs from Warwickshire Libraries. Mr Khan noted that “it was genuinely inspiring to see so many young people coming together to engage with Shakespeare – a powerful reminder of...the role culture plays in shaping curiosity and creativity in the next generation.”
It was the first time the Club has organised an education event on this scale. We would like to thank the Town Trust for their generous donation that allowed the Club to use the Arts House, the staff of the Arts House for their help in advance and on the day, and all of those who gave their time and energy to make it so successful.
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