The National Theatre continues its commitment to supporting teachers and young people across the UK with at home digital resources and learning opportunities in 2021. From full length productions available to stream, a playwrighting course, online activities for primary age pupils, resources exploring backstage theatre and the annual Drama Teacher Conference – now online – there is something for both students and teachers.
Free streaming for state schools
The National Theatre Collection is a digital library of 30 world-class productions available to schools and universities worldwide. Productions include adaptations such as Small Island and Jane Eyre, Shakespearean tragedies Othello and King Lear, American classics such as A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic) and productions especially adapted for primary schools.
National Theatre Collection is available free of charge for state schools and Further Education colleges across the UK through Bloomsbury Publishing’s Drama Online platform and teachers can share log-in details with students to watch productions from home when remote learning. New learning resources added for this year include introductory teaching packs, lesson plans and workshop ideas and access to behind-the-scenes content such as rehearsal diaries.
Other academic institutions including libraries, universities, independent and international schools can access National Theatre Collection via a one-time payment for the full collection, or via an annual subscription in partnership with ProQuest and Bloomsbury.
Online learning for teachers
The NT’s annual Drama Teacher Conference will be taking place digitally during the February half-term (15-20 February 2021) and is open to drama teachers across the UK. The conference includes webinars, panel discussions and live interactive sessions with leading creatives in the industry, including theatre directors Katie Mitchell, Marianne Elliott and Matthew Xia, designer Bunny Christie and actor Maxine Peake. Sessions are £5 each with bursaries available for state schools.
Additional digital resources
To discover NT Learning’s range of digital resources including the New Views playwriting course with scripts, video collections about theatre-making, digital exhibitions, recorded talks and resource packs exploring NT productions visit www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/learning/at-home.
Alice King-Farlow, Director of Learning at the National Theatre said, “The National Theatre is determined to continue supporting teachers and students with resources and opportunities to learn about theatre-making, particularly while the majority of young people are learning from home. We are inspired by the way drama teachers have adapted to deliver the subject in new ways and hope the National Theatre Collection will give young people a chance to explore landmark productions while theatres remain closed. We look forward to connecting with drama teachers across the UK through our virtual Drama Teacher Conference to explore new approaches to drama with some of the most exciting practitioners across the industry and continue growing a community of remarkable teachers to share skills and learnings together”.
