Magic Box

An introduction to the world of William Shakespeare for primary schools, targeting grades 5 and 6.Magic

Box introduces Primary School students to the magical world of William Shakespeare. An Executioner takes the students back into the Elizabethan England. An actor from the 21st century has lost her colleague and is forced to improvise without him. To do so she conducts a quiz, tries on some costumes and demonstrates how Shakespeare’s plays were staged. With the aid of some “fairies” she conjures Ben Johnson from the magic box.

He assists her in staging some scenes from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet as well as exploring some of Shakespeare’s themes and characters.

This script was originally developed as part of a series, for Bell Shakespeare’s Actors At Work programme, performed between the years 2005 – 2011.

Style: A contemporary introduction to Shakespeare

Length: 40 minutes

Casting Notes: Flexible cast options for a classroom context: four students could play the designated actors with additional students playing the Shakespearean characters.

Cast: age 8 to 12

Audience Age: children

Publisher: Australian Script Centre