What gives Shakespeare’s work its enduring appeal? How were his plays performed and printed 400 years ago, and how has our conception of Shakespeare evolved over the centuries?

As part of Shakespeare400, marking 400 years since his death, King’s College London has partnered with Shakespeare’s Globe and the British Library, to create a free online course (MOOC) exploring how Shakespeare’s works continue to delight audiences around the world. The course is open to everyone, no prior Shakespeare knowledge is required.

Join us for the launch of this new exciting course, where you will find out more and get a sneak preview of some of the content.

The course features academics, curators, publishers, actors, musicians and theatre directors, as we find out more about Shakespeare’s early modern world and consider his construction as a global icon today

• We will take you on to the stage of the Globe Theatre, to find out about performance practices both in the present day capital and in Early Modern London.
• We’ll meet practitioners at the Globe and we’ll step into the world of the early modern actor to examine the processes and conditions that were at the heart of the Shakespearean playhouse.
• The British Library has given us exclusive access to some some priceless manuscripts and early printed texts in their archives. We’ll also discover how the early modern book trade shaped the journey of Shakespeare’s text from stage to page through the centuries.

You will be able to sign up for the MOOC at the launch event, the course starts September 2016.