Barbie dolls and Shakespeare

Over the last 2 months my mum has been coming over on Mondays to teach Lil't how pleasurable it is to understand and subsequently enjoy Shakespeare. Maureen is an actress with over 40 years experience in the industry so it is only fitting for her to tackle this particular subject!

In Australia, Shakespeare's plays are not approached by students until high school which is right about when kids are rejecting anything cultural that is proffered to them by anyone over the age of 22 (which is WAY OLD anyway). Sparking an interest in this subject now is invaluable to Lil't's education, and how wonderful to have the privilege to start exploring this subject at the tender age of 9.

Big M and Lil't have been studying Romeo and Juliet. The quintessential romantic tragedy. So far they have also taken in two films as part of the study- the Baz Luhrmann version, and Westside Story, along with detailed coverage of the dialogue each week. More films will be viewed over time as to  impart some of the critical and interpretive understanding of theatre, tv and film. I can't wait to take her to a live theatre production!

So, what role does Barbie play in this I hear you ask? Well, who better to play the Montagues and the Capulets and all the other roles!

Learning to read Shakespeare out loud is fantastic. Lil't is learning about language evolution, history, metre, character, all while improving her literacy and covering various aspects of acting and performance. They have even begun a project that embraces location design for production purposes, finding  locations within our suburb to be used for different scenes and photographing them.

hi it's little T! Me and grandma have been doing Romeo and Juliet and we have being using the barbies that me and my dad collected when i was the age two up to five. I like the plot in Romeo and Juliet except the death part about it :[. sorry about the sad face. my favourite character is the nanny. ummm i guess that's all folks!!!!! :D