Shakespeare for everyone
Autumn 2018 with Dr. Derek Dunne, Lecturer in English at Cardiff University, and the actor Dafydd Emyr. Two half day workshops each week for eight weeks, introducing several of Shakeseare's sonnets and passages from King Lear. The workshops were funded by the Arts Council of Wales and hosted by The Big Issue and The Wallich, who support people who are homeless across Wales.
”I probably had the best night’s sleep I’d had in I don’t know how long after the first workshop ….I felt relaxed. It really made me feel good about myself at the end of the day. And as the workshops went on I felt better and better.”
Mareth - participant
“Through you, Judith, I’m connecting with people. It’s given me a purpose and I’m connecting with people.”
Anthony - participant
“It’s new for me this Shakespeare stuff. So it’s a challenge for me really ‘cause he speaks funny. But I really enjoyed it. It’s given me a lot ….a boost.”
Mike - participant
“I’ve loved it because it’s twice a week - so that says that you’re committed to it …and it means that if you can’t make it one time, you can make it the other time. And the learning off-book, automatically …that’s fantastic. It’s showing great respects and great esteem to people without them knowing it and without intimidating them. It’s showing great generosity.”
Gabriel - participant
“These workshops let out some emotions that I just lock …keep locked and thrown away the key. And yeah ….Top of the Pops …great stuff! I wanna jump onto something else. Quick as - like! So hurry up!”
Anthony - participant
“That method you’ve got of not letting us read ….It’s gone in now …and it keeps coming out at strange times. It’s great …’cause it really tests your brain in different ways. You’ve got to really concentrate …and I liked it when we got to the stage where we were doing it in different tones ….with different intentions. You stopped having to worry about remembering the words. It just seemed to flow. That for me was a real turning point. I started to realise just how powerful it can be.”
Chris - participant and Creative Arts Co-ordinator for The Wallich
“I teach Shakespeare. I teach scenes and plays with students but just to see what you can do with four lines …or one line, just really spending time getting your mouth around it, getting your head around it - I found that really valuable for my own teaching. And the level of commitment and passion that I’ve seen people give to it… I wish that my own students would sometimes give the same.”
Dr. Derek Dunne, Lecturer in English Literature, Cardiff University
“I think the two most important things for me …First, is making new friendships, and second, has to be, the laughter. It’s been amazing. It hasn’t been too serious. We’ve had a laugh - we’ve all been in stitches. I’ve loved the friendship and laughter.”
Wayne - participant and Vendor Support worker for The Big Issue