Acts of emotion

摘要

The jury is out about the ability of drama to help people with autism, and plays by Shakespeare would seem to be unlikely candidates. But their intensity may help explore the emotional expression that autism can make difficult. This is the aim of a new version of The Tempest, adapted for children and young people with autism by Kelly Hunter, an actor with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Her pioneering method relies on iambic pentameter, the verse form Shakespeare used. She also works with the Shakespeare and Autism project at Ohio State University, and the play is an RSC-Ohio co-production.