All The World's A Stage - Tudors Workshop

All the World's a Stage supports Performing Arts through an education-led experience that combines live theatre with guided exploration of performance. Pupils develop an understanding of how performance is created, communicated and experienced, using theatre as a tool for learning rather than presentation.

Through high-quality live performance, pupils experience how voice, movement, character and staging work together to tell a story and communicate meaning to an audience. The school hall is transformed into a performance space, allowing pupils to encounter theatre as a shared, live art form.

Where included, drama-based activities allow pupils to explore performance from the inside, responding in role, experimenting with movement and voice, and considering how different choices affect meaning and audience response. The emphasis is on participation, exploration and understanding rather than rehearsing a finished piece.

Pupils are encouraged to reflect on performance elements such as character, staging, sound and audience interaction. Discussion supports analysis and evaluation, helping pupils articulate how performances are constructed and how performers communicate ideas and emotions.

While rooted in Performing Arts, the experience remains firmly connected to curriculum learning, with clear links to History, English and PSHE. This reinforces the role of the Performing Arts as a way to explore stories, ideas and human experience through live performance.

All the World's a Stage is an education-led drama experience that uses theatre as a teaching approach. Across the live performance, optional drama workshop and follow-on classroom activities, pupils explore character and narrative in role, developing oracy, confidence and understanding through drama.

Through high-quality live theatre, pupils encounter character, storytelling and staging as a shared dramatic stimulus. This introduces ideas, viewpoints and historical situations in an accessible way, providing a clear foundation for discussion and further exploration.

Where chosen, the optional drama workshop extends learning through guided drama activities. Pupils respond in role, explore decisions and consider perspectives, using drama to support thinking and discussion rather than to rehearse or present a finished performance.

The experience supports the development of key Drama skills, including working in role, exploring character and status, using voice and movement expressively, and responding to dramatic stimulus. Improvisation is used purposefully to support creative decision-making and enquiry.

Drama is also used to support reflection and evaluation. Through discussion and questioning, pupils consider how character, staging and performance choices create meaning, helping them to articulate ideas and build confidence in talking about drama.

While drama underpins the approach, learning remains firmly rooted in curriculum content, with clear links to History, English and PSHE. This reinforces drama's role as a powerful teaching tool for exploring ideas, themes and human experience across the curriculum.

All the World's a Stage supports learning about the Tudor period through a structured, narrative-led experience. Pupils explore Tudor monarchy, religion, exploration and everyday life through key figures and events, gaining a secure understanding of the period through storytelling and drama.

The performance introduces pupils to Tudor England through recognisable historical figures including Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I. Using narrative and character, pupils develop an understanding of how Tudor monarchs ruled, how power was exercised and how decisions shaped life in England.

Key aspects of the Tudor period are explored in context, including the English Reformation, religious conflict, succession and stability. Exploration and England's relationship with Spain are introduced through figures such as Drake and Raleigh, helping pupils understand Tudor England's place in the wider world.

Elizabethan theatre provides a further lens through which Tudor society is examined. Pupils encounter William Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre, developing insight into entertainment, social hierarchy and attitudes of the time, while also understanding the importance of theatre within Tudor culture.

Through discussion and drama-based exploration, pupils are encouraged to consider viewpoints, motivations and consequences, supporting historical understanding through empathy and reflection rather than performance. The experience helps pupils place the Tudors securely within a chronological framework and distinguish the period from earlier and later eras.

All the World's a Stage supports learning about the Elizabethan period through a structured, narrative-led experience. Pupils explore life in Elizabethan England through key figures, theatre, exploration and power, gaining a clear sense of the period and its values through storytelling and drama.

The performance places pupils firmly within the reign of Elizabeth I, using recognisable characters and situations to explore what life was like during the Elizabethan era. Themes such as monarchy, exploration, religion and entertainment are introduced in context, helping pupils understand how these shaped everyday life and society.

Elizabethan theatre plays a central role in the learning. Pupils encounter William Shakespeare, the Globe Theatre and the experience of attending a play in Elizabethan London, developing an understanding of how theatre reflected and influenced life at the time. This provides insight into social hierarchy, gender roles and expectations within Elizabethan society.

Through narrative, character and guided discussion, pupils consider how power was exercised, how decisions were made, and how stability was maintained during Elizabeth I's reign. The experience helps pupils place the Elizabethan period securely within the Tudor timeline while distinguishing it from later historical periods.

Where included, drama-based activities allow pupils to explore viewpoints and situations from the period, supporting historical understanding through empathy, discussion and reflection rather than role-play for performance.

All the World's a Stage supports learning about monarchy through a structured, narrative-led experience. Pupils explore how Tudor monarchs ruled, made decisions and held power, developing an understanding of leadership, succession and authority through historical storytelling and drama.

The performance introduces key Tudor monarchs, including Henry VIII, Mary I and Elizabeth I, helping pupils understand their roles, responsibilities and the impact of their decisions. Through character and narrative, pupils explore how power was exercised and how the monarch influenced religion, law and everyday life.

Themes such as succession, stability and governance are explored in context, allowing pupils to consider why monarchs needed heirs, how the crown was passed on, and what happened when leadership changed. Pupils also encounter the role of Parliament, supporting an understanding of how monarchs governed alongside others.

Through discussion and drama-based exploration, pupils are encouraged to consider different viewpoints and the consequences of decisions made by those in power. This helps pupils develop a secure understanding of monarchy as a system of rule, rather than simply a sequence of rulers.

The experience supports pupils in placing monarchs within a clear historical timeline, helping them distinguish Tudor rule from earlier and later periods while building a coherent understanding of how monarchy shaped Tudor England.