STORIES
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As we celebrate 20 years of Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank, read on to hear from teachers, attendees, Shakespeare’s Globe and Deutsche Bank staff and our volunteer Stewards about their experiences of the project over the last two decades.
HIGHLIGHTS
“None of them had ever been to the Globe and most had never been to the theatre before even though they had grown up in London. It was a wonderful experience.”
“Here is an opportunity for 1,500 inner city young people who have never considered Shakespeare as relevant to them or fun, who don’t know any theatre etiquette, to participate (because in the Globe it’s not just about watching) in a production built especially for them.”
“It’s definitely the most alive the Globe ever is.”
“Seeing the actors and young people come together in that moment was electrifying; the young people responded with a candour and openness that made the Globe feel utterly alive.”
“It also demystified Shakespeare, making it real and relevant.”
“You have given young people not only access to live theatre but also the chance to see themselves reflected in art, to understand the timelessness of human experience, and to feel the emotional power of Shakespeare’s words in a way no textbook could ever capture.”
“At times we have actually introduced new plays into the curriculum in response to the productions you have announced.”
“One teacher said several students reported the play has finally “clicked” for them.”
PROJECT STAFF
“The first Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank production that I saw was Macbeth in 2011 when I was at school. Coming from a London comprehensive school in a deprived area, we rarely got to go on school trips, so this was a very exciting experience for me and my friends. This greatly encouraged my love for the theatre, and I have returned to the Globe many times since.
Little did I know that I would end up working at Deutsche Bank and be able to support this scheme, giving this generation of children the experience I was lucky to receive all those years ago. In the last two years working here I have been able to treat friends and family to these performances, which we have enjoyed very much! I can’t wait to see next year’s show!”
– Elsie Duffy, Deutsche Bank Employee
“A gentleman got in touch a couple of years ago to say he’d like to propose to his partner during a public performance of Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Romeo and Juliet.
It was especially poignant because they had first met as students at a Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Romeo and Juliet performance years ago, coming from different schools.
I approached them at the end of the performance and escorted them down into the yard, where he got down on one knee and proposed. We took photographs surrounded by tearful stewards, I handed over a bouquet of flowers – and she said yes!”
– Carly Davies, Shakespeare’s Globe Staff
“I remember there being a real buzz about the theatre waiting for the show to start, lots of chatter amongst everyone and complete awe at where we were – I don’t think it had quite dawned on any of us that it was going to be a traditional Shakespearean theatre. I was lucky enough for it not to be my first time ever in a theatre, I had seen 1 or 2 musicals by that point, but it was my first time ever seeing a play. As you can imagine, there were lots of moments of shock and surprise throughout, I can remember hearing gasps and catching myself gasping myself at some of the heavier moments. All in all, it was a very exciting trip – I remember going home and telling my mum all about it and how thrilling it was, she mentioned just last night how she also remembered me coming back with a big smile on my face!
Since working on the project in a VOA capacity, many moments have stood out to me as special. It’s definitely the most alive the Globe ever is. I remember working my first Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank in 2024, which was the Romeo and Juliet show returning this year, and hearing the screams coming from the Globe as Paris would start his ‘hen night’ scene – sometimes we would be in the shop or down by Bankside and you could still hear the cheering/screaming! Also, when Paris would pick a teacher out of the crowd and blow them a kiss – I’ve never heard such laughter from an audience ever. Last year’s Macbeth was just as lively, and I remember one-time, during the scene where Macbeth kills Duncan and would come out on stage covered in blood, one student turned around to me and went “nah Miss, that is SO wrong”. She was absolutely disgusted with him and even booed him during the bows at the end! There are what feels like hundreds more small interactions where that came from, it is a truly unique show to work.
– Kirsty Davidson, Shakespeare’s Globe Staff
“One key memory for me was during Romeo and Juliet in 2024. It was an utterly miserable day, completely chucking it down with rain and freezing too. I was on a Yard shift and making my way through the sodden crowd. There were two girls in front of me, looking like they were huddling for warmth. When I came back round their area, I went in front instead of behind them and got a look at their faces. They weren’t huddling for warmth (well maybe they were a bit), but they were having a little cry! I looked up at the stage and realised that it was right at the end of the show and Juliet had just woken up to find Romeo’s dead body. I had assumed they were having a terrible time in the dripping wet but actually they were completely engaged with the play.
From Macbeth in 2025, my old secondary school came to see the show – I had recognised the lead teacher’s name on email and told her I was alumni when processing her booking. When they came on the day, and were waiting outside the Groundling Gates, the lead teacher got all the girls’ attention (all-girls school), quietened them down and said – ‘Look girls, this is Emma! She’s a Norbury girl!’ and they all whooped for me. It was really nice! One of them said ‘Thank you for letting us come!’. It was amazing to see the project engage the next generation of Norbury girls!”
– Emma Bower, Shakespeare’s Globe Staff
“Collaborating on Romeo and Juliet (2024) was a highlight of the year for the Violence Reduction Unit and its Young People’s Action Group. The opportunity helped build confidence, teamwork and communication skills and helped the group to see the connection between storytelling and social change. It also demystified Shakespeare, making it real and relevant.
The 2026 Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank project offers a real opportunity to work closely on the production and make it even more accessible; staging it so that young people are encouraged to think about real issues alongside their academic studies feels like a fitting way to celebrate 20 years of this wonderful programme.”
– Lib Peck, Violence Reduction Unit
“I will never forget the thrill of that first performance – 1,500 young people from across London, many seeing Shakespeare live on stage for the very first time. Seeing the actors and young people come together in that moment was electrifying; the young people responded with a candour and openness that made the Globe feel utterly alive.
When we launched Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank 20 years ago, we were stepping into the unknown, driven by a shared belief that access to world-class theatre should not be limited by background. Seeing it grow from that bold idea into a project that has given thousands of free tickets to young people, and continues to go from strength to strength, is enormously gratifying. It remains one of the defining highlights of my career. Long live Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank!”
– Producer of first Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank productions
“I love this place, and my biggest joy at that first performance was witnessing that enchantment land with hundreds of young people who had clearly never been to a theatre before. Here is an opportunity for 1,500 inner city young people who have never considered Shakespeare as relevant to them or fun, who don’t know any theatre etiquette, to participate (because in the Globe it’s not just about watching) in a production built especially for them. I love that 20 years on some will be here now as teachers! They were feral for the first 15 minutes of that first production of Much Ado About Nothing in 2007; we had made the mistake of starting the show on a high thinking they would need energising, but the building had given them that. The musicians banged some big drums and we started again. Then the magic came as they focused in on the story: the profound silences as they listened, the involuntary gasp at the injustices, the pure delighted laughter. I just found a card I was sent after the performance, there were no reviews in those days: “Thank you for Much Ado; the vitality and charm of this production, and it’s clarity, made the immediacy of Shakespeare so accessible to its young audience. And a lot of older people too.””
– Director, first Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: Much Ado About Nothing, 2007
I was lucky enough to work at Shakespeare’s Globe from 2014 to 2019 and have so many fond memories of Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank productions during that time. As someone who fell in love with the Globe and Shakespeare when I was taken to see a show by my university, I have always loved seeing young people be inspired in the same way and Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank is at the heart of that. What makes the Globe special to me is the way it puts audiences right in the middle of the action, bringing Shakespeare’s world and his plays to life around you and reminding us all that history doesn’t have to be boring and Shakespeare’s plays are made to be on stage! On a stage, the plays can thrill, move, and entertain us as much today as when they were written and no shows do that better than Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank productions. I volunteered to help steward a Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank performance every year during my time at The Globe. Seeing the students chatting on Bankside, often messing around and fairly uninterested in the play they were about to see; then seeing that restlessness transform as they become transfixed by the show; and then hearing the rapturous applause, cheers and excited chatter at the end of every show never failed to be inspiring and remind me of the impact offering young people the chance to see live theatre can have. My experience seeing first-hand the impact of the project shows, and all of the Globe’s education programmes, has inspired my own career in theatre, supporting work which offers inspiration, access and opportunities for young people. I will always be so proud of playing even a small role in supporting this amazing project, and the memory of soldiers abseiling into the yard from the lower gallery during a production of Othello is one of my all-time favourite theatrical memories. Congratulations to everyone involved in the project, and here’s to many more amazing years to come!
– Claire Reeves, Shakespeare’s Globe 2014–2017
TEACHERS
“The students were thrilled to be able to visit the Globe to see Macbeth, as the chance to see a performance of one of their core GCSE texts was invaluable. They were fascinated to see the play staged in a contemporary setting, which encouraged them to think of alternative interpretations of scenes and characters. Both the highly engaging workshops and the brilliant production hugely benefited our students. During the performance, the students enjoyed mouthing along to familiar scenes, and they relished the opportunity to understand the text being spoken aloud in the workshops.
The acting was engaging and highly skilled. Two of our students were so taken with Lady Macbeth that they made love hearts with their hands at her; they were amazed and deeply touched when she returned the favour at the end!”
– Basil Vincent, Ark Isaac Newton Academy
“I took four visually impaired students to this performance. We attended three workshops which were outstanding. The care and thought that had gone into the day was second to none. The touch tour helped them to embed the fabrics, the props into their minds. A music session helped students hear and play the variety of instruments used and a talk about the Globe helped them to understand the journey and inspiration behind building the new Globe. The performance was striking and energetic, drawing in the audience with a modern interpretation of the classic Shakespearean play. A tremendous day!”
– Sarah Keay, Teacher
“I was a Head of English in Camden when you first launched the programme and of course we seized the opportunity to bring 200 students. None of them had ever been to the Globe and most had never been to the theatre before even though they had grown up in London. It was a wonderful experience.
Even though bringing 200 students across London was a huge undertaking and involved huge organisation and making 20 staff available, we relished the opportunity. Because of the relaxed Bear Pit approach to the venue, students felt entitled to be present and a bit lively making it manageable for staff to bring a whole cohort without leaving more challenging students back at school. We always want to be inclusive and the ethos of the Globe has always allowed us to do so.
Since then I have probably brought a group every year. Students have always looked forward to it and seen it as a rite of passage. Enabling students to feel entitled to all that London has to offer is incredibly important for giving young people a sense of belonging and of course we are always hoping that by enriching students’ cultural capital they will feel more engaged with learning, will be touched by the great narratives of our times and the powerful shared experience of theatre.
The journeys back from the Globe are always full of conversations. As we cross back over the Millennium Bridge, students always want to discuss bits they enjoyed the most, why a director or actor made a certain choice, how a section of the play suddenly had greater meaning for them. This will even be from students who struggle at school, who may not have even mastered English yet. Providing that collective experience is very special.
As I moved to a school in Tower Hamlets, I made sure that Globe Trips were a priority and as we were anew small school we have often been able to bring the whole school. Not only have the students loved it, also the staff – most of whom have never been to the Globe either.
In terms of great productions, your recent version of Romeo and Juliet was super and we are delighted you are reviving it. The little touches to make it more modern have a powerful impact and help the students to enjoy the universality of the themes. You also did a super production of Macbeth a few years ago with soldiers coming down from the rafters on ropes. I think we also saw a great production of Merchant of Venice… At times we have actually introduced new plays into the curriculum in response to the productions you have announced. So we taught Othello at KS3 and Merchant in response to your planned productions. So the programme is also helping to enrich the curriculum and encouraging teachers to bring new texts to the curriculum.
Your workshops have also been great.”
– Nicolette Sorba, Wapping High School
“In 2024, I had the privilege of traveling to London for the first time with a group of sixteen high school students, and together we attended The Globe’s powerful production of Romeo and Juliet.
For my students and me, this was a moment beyond words. Many of them had studied Romeo and Juliet with me in our English Honours class, and to see Shakespeare’s words come alive on the very stage where his plays were first performed was a truly transformative experience. As we took our seats beneath the open sky, one student turned to me, eyes wide with awe, and said, “Ms. Kulcsar! It’s such a full circle moment! You taught us Romeo and Juliet, and now we are here in HIS GLOBE watching it!”
As the lights dimmed and the opening lines rang out — “Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene” — I felt tears stream down my face. Around me, my students sat rapt, the golden glow of the stage flickering across their faces, their expressions a mix of wonder, recognition, and pure joy. It was a moment of connection — between literature and life, teacher and student, classroom and world.
This experience would not have been possible without your generous support of Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank. You have given young people not only access to live theatre but also the chance to see themselves reflected in art, to understand the timelessness of human experience, and to feel the emotional power of Shakespeare’s words in a way no textbook could ever capture.
From the bottom of my heart — and on behalf of my students — thank you for making this extraordinary educational and cultural experience possible.”
– Kristi A. Kulcsar, Lenape Valley Regional High School
“Student L is a Year 7 student aged 12. His behaviour at mainstream primary school meant they only (illegally) allowed him 1 hour of education a day. After a battle with the local authority, a place was found for him at our primary SLD school.
He rapidly gained confidence and was quickly doing full days. As is typical for many of our students, ASD is a co-diagnosis alongside the Global Developmental Delay, and this manifests itself in student L as extreme stubbornness and pathological dislike of any group activities, especially assemblies and school trips. In Year 7, he transferred to our secondary SLD school and has made great progress socially, academically and vocally (he has an iPad set up as a ‘talker’ but is now preferring to vocalise), but it was with some trepidation that we agreed to take him on the Globe trip. Arrangements were made with his mother that at the slightest sign of discontent, she would pick him up herself so that the experience of his classmates wouldn’t be cut short.
Thanks to the organisation from Globe staff, the convenient parking and the sensitive accommodation of our particular needs, student L sat through the entire performance, thoroughly enjoyed it and then surprised us all on the coach journey home by declaring loudly to the whole bus that it was “so much fun”. Being able to relay that story to his nerve-wracked parents upon his return was one of the highlights of my 20+ years in education.”
– Teacher from Shenstone School
STEWARDS
“The kids loved it. Asked intelligent questions. One teacher said several students reported the play has finally “clicked” for them. Whole group came into the yard for a photo, and kids all took their own pictures as well.”
“This was my first experience of Playing Shakespeare. Firstly, seeing a briefing from one of the Education team to about 80 students, whereabout 90% of them said they had never been to the theatre. When the show started the gasps and response from the young people was overwhelming, but when the Three Witches started the dialogue and about 50% of the audience joined in I was totally speechless- it was an amazing reminder of the power of theatre!”
“A group I spoke to loved it – one commented the modern music was brilliant. They all said the music was great and were all dancing along to the jig at the end.”
“I was on the stewarding position Middle East with a large school party of Year 7s who filled almost the whole gallery. The teacher informed me that for some pupils it was their first ever theatre experience, let alone their first experience of Shakespeare. Their reactions to the performance were so raw- just like Tudor groundlings I suspect: tutting, cheering, screaming, laughing and giving a running commentary. The majority were so engrossed and engaged, the rowdiness really didn’t matter- though the actors had to work very hard to be heard!”
“Overheard a student say to his teacher at the end of the show: “I’ve got so many questions to ask you sir, after that, when we’re next in class, firstly…”“
“A boy who had been unsettled all the way through and apparently not paying attention saw the assassins threatening McDuff’s baby and went “Noo-o-o-o!” with genuine alarm. He was then pretty much into it for the rest of the show.”
“Middle Gallery last night – family group, with three kids right next to stewarding position. Older son, boy of about maybe nine and daughter about seven. The younger two had notebooks and were doodling through out the show, but things related to the play… ghosts, crowns, daggers, trees. On the way out, I said that I had liked their drawings – mum said “thank you, we were so inspired by it!””
“Saw a school that looked like they might be chatty. As the show opened, a group of boys shouted “fair is foul, and foul is fair” along with the actors. Later, as Lady Macbeth encouraged Macbeth to kill Duncan, one girl said “that’s not very girly pop of her…”
“[chatted to] a man who said he had brought all his children and now had brought his granddaughter [to see the show] – who turned one two weeks ago. He said he was a published poet and writer, and every year he had a poem published about the play in their house magazine.”
