One in three teenagers have never heard of Shakespeare

William who? One in three teenagers have never heard of playwright Shakespeare, LAMDA poll finds

  • A group of youngsters were given a list of 13 names, including many celebrities
  • They were asked to identify which of the people were famous playwrights 
  • A total of 31 per cent of them were unable to identify Shakespeare as one 

One third of teenagers do not know that William Shakespeare was a playwright, according to research.

The poll also found that half of state school children have never been to see a play with their teacher and two thirds have never acted in one.

The youngsters were given a list of 13 names, including those of celebrities such as Simon Cowell and Alesha Dixon, and asked to say which were playwrights. A total of 31 per cent were unable to identify Shakespeare as one.

Joanna Read, principal of London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, which conducted the research among 11 to 18-year-olds, said: ‘These statistics are shocking.

‘I’m concerned that half of our children have never been to a play with their school – that figure should be zero.’


  • Boris Johnson signs up to give after-dinner speeches for…


    Nervous groom Jack struggles with Eugenie’s wedding ring as…


  • A carriage procession, music by Andrea Bocelli and a service…

Share this article

Youngsters were given a list of 13 names, including those of celebrities such as Simon Cowell and Alesha Dixon, and asked to say which were playwrights

Source: Read Full Article