Join us for a festive follow-up to Simon’s Shakespeare Summer School! By popular request, the Learning Hub presents a week-long Christmas Course with Dr. Simon Gregor, exploring Shakespeare's wonderful comedy, Twelfth Night. Over five consecutive days, we will dive into the magical world of Illyria: shipwreck, romance, cross-dressing, love rivalry, duels and even bright yellow stockings will all feature!

Each day focuses on one act of this five-act drama, allowing deep exploration of plot and themes. Simon will read key speeches, unravel their meanings, and discuss how Shakespeare intertwines plots to create engaging and often subversive comedy. Sessions begin with insights into key themes, fostering connections within the play and with other works by Shakespeare. Whether Shakespeare fills you with joy or trepidation, all are welcome to join us in making his plays accessible, enjoyable, and engaging.

There will be one 60 minute class at the same time each weekday, running from Monday – Friday at 2:30-3:30pm – which means we get to spend five hours on each play, and can work carefully and thoroughly through the drama. 

If you want to read along as we go, then you are welcome to do so, but there is no necessity to, so don’t worry if you don’t have copies of the plays; you can simply tune in, relax and listen if you prefer.  There will be a few minutes at the end of each class for questions.

So, whether you are a seasoned Shakespeare theatre-goer, or would just like to dip a toe back into the water after a less than appealing schooltime introduction to the subject, Simon looks forward to welcoming you!

All the classes will be recorded, so no need to worry if you cannot make all the classes live. 

• Recordings of sessions for those who have booked the live course will be emailed to you within 24 hours of the live session taking place. Please expect an email each day to enable you to catch up or rewatch in your own time up to the end of January 2025.
• Additionally, Christmas Course recordings will be uploaded and available to book in our Access Anytime - On Demand Course listings at the end of the week and compiled into one bookable item. These will be available to access up to the end of January 2025 if you would like to recommend it to a friend or family member.

Please note, by booking this course, you have access to all 5 sessions taking place this week.

Zoom log in details will be included at the bottom of your confirmation email after you have registered. 

(If you do not receive a confirmation email please check your spam/junk email boxes or sign into the 'Your Account' section of the Learning Hub website to retrieve all of your booking and course information)