The lyrical beauty of Shakespeare’s language does not appear to have much in common with the often coarse, violent and expletive-filled utterances of rap music. But the Royal Shakespeare Company is drawing parallels with hip-hop to try to promote the Bard’s plays to today’s youth.
It claims that a “fun new app” for mobile phones, which includes games with Shakespearean lip-syncing and beatboxing (mimicking drum noises with your mouth), will help a new generation of young people relate to the playwright’s work.
The “hip-hop Shakespeare quiz” challenges teenagers to work out which lines are from Shakespeare and which from the rapper Akala. The actors David Tennant and Tamsin Greig perform in the app, which is called RE: Shakespeare and is available across Android devices. Greig won critical acclaim for her portrayal of Beatrice in a much-lauded RSC production of Much Ado About Nothing, a role that won her an Olivier award in 2007, while Tennant has repeatedly been cast in Shakespearean roles, including as Hamlet and Richard II.
The task of distinguishing Shakespeare from its more modern lyrical counterpart is less easy than it first appears. Lines that the app uses from Shakespeare, for example, would not be out of place in rap: “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers” (Henry VI, Part 2) and: “It is certain I am loved of all ladies” (Much Ado About Nothing).
Meanwhile, lines written by Akala, younger brother of the rapper Ms Dynamite, sound positively Shakespearean: “Strange is the fruit that nourishes not the vein”, “How is this more than sophisticated savagery”, “Chance never did crown me, this is destiny,” and “But let’s not pretend there was no foundation to this art.”
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The app is aimed at teenagers used to “snacking” on online content, whose attention spans may initially be too short for a play. It is being downloaded by schools to coincide with the start of term in just over a week. Users can lip-sync lines and star in a “dubsmash” style video, where their phone records them mouthing famous quotes while a voiceover makes them sound more Shakespearean.
The app, created by Samsung, also allows users to mix Shlomo, a beatboxer, with Shakespeare to create a shareable track, and to guess what Shakespeare lines mean. It uses a recording of two sections of Much Ado About Nothing, then an actor, voice coach and director give pupils tips in acting techniques, via the app, to help them to deliver their lines. Users choose whether to be Benedick or Beatrice, the lead characters in the play, and can then perform virtually with a Shakespearean actor playing their opposite number.
The creators of the app claim it will inspire a new generation and transform the way young people experience the work of Shakespeare.
A spokesman for the RSC said: “The app includes thematic links to and quotes from 19 other Shakespeare plays, and helps students to re-interpret, re-mix and ultimately perform alongside RSC actors. It engages pupils with the help of various coaches, ranging from rappers, to spoken word poets and RSC voice coaches — all cast with students in mind. This variety of popular faces keeps the content fresh and exciting, perfect for the teenage target audience, given that one in four admits to being more influenced by celebrities than people they know.
“Given that we are increasingly snacking on content, the RE: Shakespeare app engages users via three short interactive sessions — play, practice and perform — each reflecting a different stage of learning.”
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Catherine Mallyon, the RSC’s executive director, said that Shakespeare’s plays were “part of our cultural inheritance”, adding: “We play a leading role in ensuring that this special inheritance is shared with young people and to nurture and develop their relationship with Shakespeare’s work.”
Jonothan Neelands, associate dean of creativity at Warwick Business School, said that using modern cultural reference points like hip-hop would “stress the musicality and rhythm of Shakespeare’s words — better than the deadly dull read-around the class”.
He added: “One concern for me is whether the app will excite users with the power of the plays to be performed and enjoyed as plays. Having Shakespeare as a choice in your life often depends on having a passionate teacher or family member who teaches you how to enjoy his work.”
Take the test
See if you can identify whether the following lines are from the plays of Shakespeare or the music of the rapper Akala
1. It’s the inequality that we live with every day that will turn us insane.
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2. My life, my joy, my food, my all the world!
3. How is this more than sophisticated savagery?
4. The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.
5. Chance never did crown me, this is destiny.
6 There is a history in all men’s lives.
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7. But let’s not pretend there was no foundation to this art.
8. My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
9. Mess coupled by death, tripled by theft.
10. Men at some time are masters of their fates.
Answers: 1. Akala (Absolute Power); 2. Shakespeare (King John); 3. Akala (Absolute Power); 4. Shakespeare (Henry VI Part 2); 5. Akala (Comedy Tragedy History); 6. Shakespeare (Henry IV Part 2); 7. Akala (Knowledge is Power); 8. Shakespeare (Hamlet); 9. Akala (Knowledge is Power); 10. Shakespeare (Julius Caesar).