Shakespeare's Macbeth, seen here in the 2015 film adaptation, may contain eternal themes of vengeance and corruption, but should it be compulsory? Photo: Supplied
Teen fans of William Shakespeare are not sure his plays should be compulsory content.
The group rewriting the secondary English curriculum wants to make the bard's works compulsory in the senior secondary school, arguing that all students should encounter the greatest literature.
His works contain timeless themes, clever language and plots involving blood, witches, and star-crossed lovers, but are also full of misogyny, racism and language that is difficult for a modern reader to understand.
The Sheila Winn National Shakespeare Festival brought hundreds of teens to Wellington recently to perform short scenes from Shakespeare's plays.
A group of Year 12 and 13 students from Dunedin's Trinity Catholic College at the festival told RNZ they enjoyed performing Shakespeare, but they were not sure he should be mandatory.
"Shakespeare definitely has a lot of relevance. There should be some choice, however I think it's a lot more relevant than other things that English teachers choose for English class and it would be a lot more useful," said Year 12 student Nuala.
Year 13 student Phoebe said Shakespeare should be compulsory.
"Shakespeare has a lot of relevance today. I think it's also really important when it comes to NCEA exams at the end of the year for the markers because a lot of the time when people have written their novel study, the marker may not know what the book is," she said.
Year 13 student Jeremy agreed Shakespeare could provide a consistent text for teachers and markers but said not everyone was a fan of his work.
"We are all involved with drama so we are all pretty passionate about Shakespeare but obviously other people are less passionate about Shakespeare," he said.
Shakespeare Globe Centre New Zealand chief executive Dawn Sanders. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ chief executive Dawn Sanders told RNZ she agreed with the push for mandatory Shakespeare.
She said his works had stood the test of time and were still relevant.
"I do think that it should be compulsory. I think there should be some option available obviously of which plays because some suit an area more than others. Having said that, as can be seen through our scenes, they are interpreted in any which way. They have them contemporised, they have them in a setting, it might be in the future, it might be in the recent past," she said.
"Always there's some passages translated into te reo, we've had a full-length 15-minute one in Tongan... it's really lovely because it can incorporate the culture of a school."
But she warned that teachers had to be well-prepared, so they did not turn their students off.
"It depends very much on the teachers and how capable they can be at producing it for students of any age." said Sanders.
'I don't think it's the only thing to learn about'
Wellington High School has had a student-run Shakespeare Society since 1991.
Students who were part of this year's production told RNZ compulsory Shakespeare was not a good idea.
"The second you make something compulsory people start to resent it," said Year 13 student Aimee.
"A really important part of decolonisation, especially in New Zealand, is allowing new stories to be heard and different perspectives to be made and if we're all learning the same Shakespeare from millions and trillions of years ago then we're not going to learn anything new."
Year 13 student Jed directed the society's production of Two Gentlemen of Verona earlier this year.
He loved the experience but said he cut some offensive content from the play.
"It's important to learn about but I don't think it's the only thing to learn about. I don't feel like Shakespeare's more important than any other amazing text," he said.
One of the lead actor's in this year's production Ruan said English was dynamic and evolving and it was bad idea to make anything compulsory.
"I think yeah as an option, but I don't think it should be compulsory," he said.
Wellington High head of drama Alison Hodge. Photo: RNZ / John Gerritsen
The school's head of drama Alison Hodge said the Shakespeare Society was always over-subscribed and its performances sold out.
"That shows that Shakespeare is still relevant and interesting for the audience," she said.
But she said there was no need to make his works compulsory.
"I remember doing the Merchant of Venice when I was in Year 12. It was one of the driest and most tedious experiences of my high school I'm sorry to say and I think that's because Shakespeare was taught because it was taught, not because anyone had a passion for it or particularly felt strongly that it was going to be influential or important. It was just that it was always done," she said.
"Shakespeare is drama and it's there to voiced. So if you're doing a study in a classroom where you're analysing it as a piece of literature that's quite a different approach to getting up and walking the text and speaking it to an audience."
Hodge said Shakespeare needed editing for a modern teen audience, especially as some content was offensive.
"Not all of his work has stood the test of time. It's a 400-year-old voice and he comes from a white world and a patriarchal world so his attitudes to women and the way he represents people of colour, that's not how we look at things in our world now," she said.
The Association of Teachers of English told RNZ it loved Shakespeare, but not compulsory Shakespeare.
