Demetriou, Eroulla and José Ruiz Mas. Get Thee to a Playhouse! An Introduction to
Elizabethan and Shakespearean Drama for Young Students of Literature. Jaén: Servicio
de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Jaén. ISBN: 978-84-8439-461-7; 238 pages.
This book invites young students of English drama to enjoy the world of the Elizabethan and
Shakespearean stage from a thorough but nonetheless dynamic and playful perspective. Both
Dr Demetriou and Dr Ruiz Mas are lecturers at the University of Jaén, where they have put
their innovative approaches to drama into practice both at Secondary and Bachillerato and
University levels. Its six chapters, full of linguistic and literary activities on English drama
before Shakespeare, Shakespeare’s contemporary playwrights such as Marlowe, Jonson,
Fletcher, aspects about the Bard’s life, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, Henry V, Much
Ado About Nothing, etc, are complemented by three appendices: one on tips for teachers on
how to use drama in the classroom, another on the recommended bibliography that could be
of use to those teachers that are brave enough to use Shakespeare’s drama as a means to teach
English, and the last one a glossary (English-Spanish/Spanish-English) of the most widely
used theatrical terms for young students. Indeed, playwrights such as Shakespeare, Marlowe,
the University Wits, etc, have never been nearer to our classrooms. The characters of Prince
Hamlet, Dr Faustus, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, or Tamburlaine, amongst others, await to be
brought to life in class. Hit the floor … and break a leg!