Inclusiveness of Shakespeare4All: Promotion of English language proficiency among Hong Kong students through the teaching of Shakespeare

Can English be taught to primary and secondary school students outside of the confines of a classroom and through the performance of Shakespeare? This paper is about the inclusiveness of a Hong Kong children’s performance troupe called Shakespeare4All, which aims to promote students’ English proficiency and self-confidence through the teaching and performance of Shakespeare. I will illustrate my argument by exploring one particular production produced by Shakespeare4All – Romeo and Juliet (2017), which was transposed to Hong Kong in the 1850s when the island became a British colony after China’s defeat in the First Opium War (1839–1842). I have drawn on the past production records of Romeo and Juliet (2017), interviews with Shakespeare4All’s former artistic director, Shiona Carson (2015–2022), and general manager, Eunice Chan (2015–present), and interviews with four primary and secondary school students from various cultural backgrounds in Hong Kong who had acted in the production. Through discussing Shakespeare4All’s Romeo and Juliet, the encompassing nature of the theatre company is exhibited in four aspects. This includes its inclusiveness of Hong Kong students from various cultural backgrounds and English abilities; its inclusiveness of the main actors, the “lesser” characters, and the backstage crew; its inclusiveness of Shakespeare with Chinese cultural elements; and its inclusiveness of Shakespeare with Western pop music.