I ONCE heard a leading scholar argue that it was a shame that Shakespeare’s work had to be spoilt by stage performances, an attitude exemplifying the snobbery that Chris Jury describes in his recent demolition of the so-called Shakespeare cult in this newspaper.

Although academics can gain pleasure from examining the texts and preparing their erudite lectures, the plays were never meant to provide bewildering examination grist for generations of kids who mostly, as a consequence, will never wish to engage with Shakespeare again.

But, as any teacher who has experienced the excited involvement of a young audience enjoying a live modern production knows, the “difficulties” that make classroom textual studies a pain disappear as the language is brought to life through the chemistry of theatre.