Shakespeare’s Globe’s critically acclaimed flagship education programme, Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank, returns for a new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Directed by Globe Director of Education Lucy Cuthbertson, this fast-paced, 90-minute version of the play is created especially for young people and is the perfect introduction to Shakespeare. Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: A Midsummer Night’s Dream will run from 4 March until 11 April 2027 in the Globe Theatre.
Delving into Shakespeare’s tale of love, mischief, and transformation, the production will follow a group of amateur performers as they rehearse a play, while fairies and animals run riot and four lovers must leave behind digital comforts to take on their biggest challenge yet: nature.
Every year, Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank offers over 26,000 free-to-access tickets for pupils aged 11–16 at non-selective state secondary schools in London and Birmingham to watch a dynamic 90-minute Shakespeare production in London’s iconic Globe Theatre. The production is created especially for young people and is designed to help students from KS3 upwards as they build towards their GCSEs. The project also offers thousands of subsidised tickets for all other schools nationwide, plus CPD sessions, student workshops and free learning resources to help teachers and students get the most out of their visit to Shakespeare’s Globe. Dedicated schools’ performances will take place from 25 February 2027.
Over 21 years of partnership, the project has delivered over 500 performances, providing over 360,000 free tickets to students from London and Birmingham state secondary schools. A further 72,000 students have attended a Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank performance through subsidised tickets. The project has also delivered 2,363 free-to-access workshops for almost 65,000 students and 110 CPDs for over 2,800 teachers.
Director of Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: A Midsummer Night’s Dream Lucy Cuthbertson, said: “It’s a real honour to direct the Playing Shakespeare production as the project is arguably the most impactful work we deliver at Shakespeare’s Globe. With thousands of free tickets allocated to schools across London & Birmingham, we hope that the show offers an opportunity normally out of reach to many young people. We are very excited to welcome students to A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for fun, frights and magic in the forest.”
Shakespeare’s Globe also offers a full programme of family workshops for children and their grown-ups. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Family Workshop will run for children aged 9-11, using interactive games and activities to explore the play’s language, characters, and themes. Led by experienced Globe practitioners including actors, teachers and directors, these workshops encourage families to participate together and can be extended with a visit to see Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, or a guided tour of the Globe Theatre. These family events run throughout the Easter Half Term.
Lucy is the Director of Education at Shakespeare’s Globe with 30 years’ experience of making theatre, teaching drama and directing, both professionally and in schools, specialising in work with and for young people. She is a founder member of Ridiculusmus Theatre Company, with whom she has toured extensively in the UK & Ireland. She is a long-time collaborator with Splendid Productions, having directed and co-directed many of their touring productions for students, as well as their pantomimes with mixed professional and student casts: The Epic Adventures of Robin Hood and Red Riding versus The Wolf (both at Stantonbury Theatre, where she was Artistic Director from 2017 to 2019). For Shakespeare’s Globe, Lucy has led learning and family work since 2019. She directed the Globe’s family shows in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse – Midsummer Mechanicals and Rough Magic – which were both co-produced with Splendid Productions and nominated for Olivier Awards. For Playing Shakespeare with Deutsche Bank, Lucy directed Romeo and Juliet in the Globe Theatre in Spring 2024 and 2026, and Macbeth in 2025.
