Shakespeare Loves Charanga!
I woke up yesterday with reports from our partners in the UK, Charanga Music, with celebratory emails regarding the launch of their latest partnership, and this was a BIG one. Charanga teamed up with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) to launch the “Shakespeare Curriculum,” a bold new digital platform that brings the power of theatre, language and creativity into the classroom in a transformational way. What makes this collaboration truly worthy of note—and of enthusiasm among school music, arts and general educators—is how it demonstrates Charanga’s platform is not only built for music but is fully adaptable. There were many luminaries at the launch event, including Dame Helen Mirren and Sir Ian McKellen!
What makes this development especially significant is the way Charanga has taken the RSC’s world-renowned rehearsal-room practices and translated them into an engaging, student-centered digital environment. Charanga’s platform, already trusted by tens of thousands of educators worldwide, has proven itself fully adaptable—able to support not only music instruction, but any creative discipline that values exploration, creativity, and authentic artistic engagement. The Shakespeare Curriculum is a compelling example of how a flexible, thoughtfully designed platform can bring the methods of professional artists into everyday classrooms.
The curriculum itself is a substantial contribution to arts learning. Offered free to all UK state secondary and SEND schools, it includes 24 interactive lessons built around ten of Shakespeare’s most-studied plays. Thanks to the RSC’s extensive archives, students can immerse themselves in rehearsal footage, practitioner insights, and creative challenges that mirror the work of actors, directors, and dramaturgs. Instead of approaching Shakespeare as distant literature, learners are invited to inhabit the plays—experimenting with language, interrogating character choices, and experiencing the collaborative nature of theatre-making.
This level of immersion is only possible because Charanga’s platform is designed to support rich, multimodal, creative learning journeys. The company’s work with the RSC shows just how dynamic the platform can be. Whether the content comes from musicians, actors, dancers, writers, or interdisciplinary arts organizations, Charanga can shape it into a cohesive, pedagogically sound digital experience that teachers can implement with confidence.
And that’s where the larger significance of this collaboration lies. By expanding into theatre and broader arts education, Charanga signals a new chapter—one in which the platform becomes a hub for creative partnership. This is not simply a publisher releasing new content; it is a technology partner capable of empowering institutions, cultural organizations, and arts leaders to bring their work to students in meaningful, engaging ways. Mark Burke, Charanga’s founder, framed this as the company’s “first expansion into wider arts education,” and it’s easy to see how this could be the beginning of something much bigger.
Ultimately, this partnership between Charanga and the RSC is a celebration of what happens when thoughtful technology meets artistic excellence. It enriches arts education, broadens access, and sets the stage for innovations that can transform how young people experience the arts. It’s a bold step forward—and a promising sign of what’s to come.
While the curriculum is not available yet in the US, or outside of the UK, watch this space! I am so proud of Mark Burke, Paul Fletcher, and the entire team at Charanga for bringing this project to fruition. It was a TON of work, but the fruits of their labor will help students around the world have an engaging and interactive experience with one of the literary world’s greatest heroes. Well done, Charanga!