Celebrating our first MA Shakespeare Studies Bursary
This year marks the 24th anniversary of Shakespeare’s Globe’s partnership with King’s College London, on our joint Shakespeare Studies MA.
The course, taught collaboratively between King’s and the Globe, provides a unique opportunity for students to engage with the theatrical world of Shakespeare and his early modern contemporaries, and the unique interplay between text and playhouse made possible by access to our unique spaces.
With the generous support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, we are delighted to announce the award of our first Shakespeare Studies MA Bursary. This fund offers financial support to one of our talented MA Students, directly toward their tuition fees. It represents an important initial step for us to increasing access to Higher Education, and the study of Early Modern drama and culture in an increasingly uncertain funding environment.
Having now settled into her first term on the MA, we spoke to CJ, our first bursary recipient, about how the fund is shaping her studies and academic development. CJ has joined us from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and was happy to share some of her first experiences so far.
CJ outside of our Education & Rehearsal Studios.
What attracted you to the Shakespeare Studies MA and Shakespeare’s Globe?
I’ve always been drawn to the performance side of Shakespeare. After training at Royal Central and working professionally in performance, I developed a deep appreciation for how Shakespeare’s language comes alive through the body, the voice, and the space of the theatre. I then grew increasingly curious throughout my studies about the texts and ideas that underpin those performances.
The Shakespeare Studies MA offered the perfect opportunity to bridge those two worlds. The partnership between rigorous academic study and the living, breathing practice of performance at the Globe provides a uniquely holistic approach to Shakespeare.
This programme allows me to unite my background in performance with a deeper exploration of Shakespeare’s texts, histories, and afterlives. To understand not only how his plays work on stage, but why they continue to move and challenge us.
What has your experience of the course been so far? What have been your highlights?
The course has been everything I hoped for and more. It’s been incredibly stimulating to approach Shakespeare from both scholarly and practical perspectives, studying his texts in depth while also seeing how theory comes alive in performance. Each seminar feels like a space where ideas, performance history, and creative interpretation all meet, and that combination has been one of the greatest joys of the MA.
My highlight so far has been how supported I’ve felt throughout the course, especially coming from a non-academic background. The teaching team and my peers have been so encouraging, helping me find confidence in approaching Shakespeare from a new, more scholarly perspective, while still drawing on my performance experience. Another unforgettable moment was getting to see the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse for the first time!
I’ve also loved the sense of community on the course. Being surrounded by people who share the same passion for Shakespeare yet approach him from such diverse backgrounds has been deeply inspiring. It has challenged and expanded the way I think about what Shakespeare can be, both in scholarship and in practice.
Do you have any plans for your next steps after graduating (academic, creative, or professional)?
I would love to continue combining the academic and creative sides of my work and, one day, I would love to find myself back at the Globe in a professional capacity (though I might need actually finish the MA before taking over as Artistic Director!). The Globe represents everything I value about Shakespeare: creativity, accessibility, and community.
I’m also really interested in adaptation work, finding new ways to reinterpret Shakespeare’s plays for contemporary audiences across stage and screen. Adaptations have such power to bridge the gap between Shakespeare’s world and our own, showing how his stories continue to resonate in modern settings. I’d love to be involved in projects that reimagine these texts in inventive and accessible ways, keeping them alive for future generations.
In the future, I hope to work in a role that helps remove the barriers young people and children often face when trying to engage with Shakespeare. For many, Shakespeare can feel intimidating or distant, and I want to be part of changing that. Whether through performance, outreach, or education, I’d like to help make his works feel alive.
What does being awarded this bursary mean for you?
Receiving this bursary has truly been life changing. I had long dreamed of pursuing postgraduate study in Shakespeare, but after losing my dad, I delayed that path. As someone living with a disability, I also knew that balancing study with accessibility and wellbeing would be a significant commitment. The bursary made it possible for me to take that step, and to do so with confidence and stability.
It has allowed me to fully immerse myself in the Shakespeare Studies MA and to experience the incredible partnership between King’s and the Globe. Standing in the Globe, studying in its spaces, and learning from its practitioners has been transformative, not only academically, but personally. It has reminded me why I fell in love with Shakespeare in the first place.
Being the first recipient of this bursary is an honour I will never forget, and I sincerely hope it continues to support others in the future. Financial assistance like this doesn’t just remove barriers, it opens doors to an education and environment that can genuinely change lives. Supporting the bursary means investing in these voices, allowing us to continue to keep Shakespeare’s work alive for everyone.
Each year of our MA sees a new cohort develop their skills in reading, understanding and critiquing the work of Shakespeare and his contemporaries – bringing unique experiences and backgrounds to their approaches. By providing further funded opportunities to engage with the MA, we hope to strengthen the academic community centred around our buildings, and reach young scholars who might otherwise feel that following their academic passion is unviable.
If you’re interested in finding out more about our Shakespeare Studies MA, or applying, please see here for more information.
If you’d like to find out more about supporting bursaries on this MA course, or other work opening doors for everyone to access Shakespeare, please get in touch with our Development team at [email protected].