Live theatre to watch online, a playwriting course and information about backstage theatre are just some of the resources the National Theatre is making available for school students and their teachers in 2021.

The theatre has continued its commitment to supporting teachers and young people across the UK with at home digital resources and learning opportunities, which include online activities for primary school pupils.

Free streaming for state schools has been available through the National Theatre Collection, a digital library of 30 world-class productions including adaptations such as Small Island and Jane Eyre; Shakespearean tragedies Othello and King Lear, American classics such as A Streetcar Named Desire (Young Vic) and productions especially adapted for primary schools.

National Theatre Collection is available free of charge for state schools and Further Education colleges across the UK through Bloomsbury Publishing’s Drama Online platform and teachers can share log-in details with students to watch productions from home when remote learning.

New learning resources added for this year include introductory teaching packs, lesson plans and workshop ideas and access to behind-the-scenes content such as rehearsal diaries.

Other academic institutions including libraries, universities, independent and international schools can access collection with a one-time payment for the full collection, or via an annual subscription.

Director of learning, Alice King-Farlow, said: “The National Theatre is determined to continue supporting teachers and students with resources and opportunities to learn about theatre-making, particularly while the majority of young people are learning from home.

"We are inspired by the way drama teachers have adapted to deliver the subject in new ways and hope the National Theatre Collection will give young people a chance to explore landmark productions while theatres remain closed."

To discover NT Learning’s range of digital resources including the New Views playwriting course with scripts, video collections about theatre-making, digital exhibitions, recorded talks and resource packs exploring NT productions visit nationaltheatre.org.uk/learning/at-home.

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