Designed for students and teachers, the toolkit is also available to the general public and integrates Shakespeare’s text with an HD video of a live performance at the Stratford Festival, allowing for “dynamic engagement with Shakespeare’s works in the classroom or during individual study,” according to a statement.
“We wanted to develop a way to really bring these wonderful plays to the classroom,” stated artistic director Antoni Cimolino, “showing students that Shakespeare can be vibrantly alive in the very same media they use to navigate and explore the world around them.”
PerformancePlus, which is suggested for grades 9-12, went live March 31 with King Lear. More titles will be added as the Festival continues with its new initiative to capture all of Shakespeare’s plays in HD over the next 10 years.
“We are launching PerformancePlus with our HD production of King Lear, an ideal title for the education market,” added executive director Anita Gaffney. “Part of our motivation for introducing the Stratford Festival HD series is to make the plays available to students and teachers. By the end of this year, we will have nine productions in our catalogue of Shakespeare films, providing an incredible tool for classrooms around the world.”
