Events

Join us for ten weeks exploring Shakespeare’s most compelling plays, from Hamlet to The Tempest, as we ask some old questions in a very contemporary world: who are we, why do we behave as we do, and have we really become any better at being human?

Across ten weeks, we’ll use four themes: identity, agency, impact and morality, as a lens for exploring Shakespeare’s plays and what they reveal about human behaviour today.

• When: Tuesday 13 October – Tuesday 15 December 2026
• Where: Cultural Hub, ground floor, Woollahra Gallery at Redleaf
• Time: 3pm – 5pm

Term 4 details:

• Theme: To Be or Not to Be… and Many Other Questions About the Human Condition
• Tutor: Dr Christine Gietz

Term overview:

• Week 1. Identity — Who am I? — Hamlet
• Week 2. Identity — What do I want? — Macbeth
• Week 3. Identity — Why do I want it? — Richard III
• Week 4. Agency — How do I get it? — The Taming of the Shrew
• Week 5. Agency — What do I do to get it? — The Merchant of Venice
• Week 6. Impact — What do I get? — Othello
• Week 7. Impact — How are others affected? — King Lear
• Week 8. Morality — Was I justified? — Julius Caesar
• Week 9. Morality — Who judges? — Much Ado About Nothing
• Week 10. Morality — What does it all mean? — The Tempest

Shakespeare was an acute observer of the human condition. His characters strut and fret across the stage, ambitious, fearful, jealous, loving, deceitful, courageous and flawed, and then, as Shakespeare reminds us, they are gone.

Hosted by Woollahra Council, in partnership with the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA) Sydney.

Spaces are limited, so don’t miss out! Register today to secure your spot.

For further information, please contact the Woollahra Life! team on 1300 882 962.

This is a Woollahra Municipal Council program facilitated by Holdsworth.