The North Face of Shakespeare argues that successful active work arises directly from the extraordinary dramatic power of Shakespeare's writing - from its language and poetry and its use of narrative and character. The book invites teachers and drama practitioners to think of their classroom as a stage, with their students as both actors and audience. It proposes that the text can be presented as drama - whether in quite simple ways sitting at desks or in open space in the classroom or workshop, the text can be spoken and performed by every learner in the room. The aim is for students to take away an engaged and secure understanding of that text to use in their own reading and study.