Toronto company's app brings Shakespeare to life

A Toronto company is hoping to transform the way students around the world learn about Shakespeare through a new iPhone app that brings the historic productions to life.

Shakespeare at Play allows users to watch video of the scenes as they read along.

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When you first open up one of the plays, you get a nice big video window at the top and the text at the bottom, explains Tim Chisolm, who came up with the app to help students better understand and navigate the language of the Bard.

We're trying not to leave the student dangling from a cliff and sort of not know how to pull themselves back up We want to empower them to attack the text so that when they are in class with the teachers they can ask informed questions.

The app also includes audio introductions, character descriptions and a built-in dictionary.

When you encounter a word like hurly burly, and nobody knows what it means, you just hold your finger down on it [to get the definition], Chislom said.

Shakespeare at Play has already produced Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and Hamlet.

'I have everything I need'

About a dozen private schools in the GTA are already using the app, including Kings College School in Caledon.

It moved [Shakespeare] from what was a task for some to a joy for everyone, said Kings College School headmistress Barbara Lord. They had much better understanding about what happened and the meaning behind it.

Students like Zoe Meloff, a 14-year-old Grade 10 student at Kings College School, say the app is a huge help.

Instead of looking different places like a dictionary or something, I have everything that I need right in front of me, she said.

The apps creators say they're getting inquiries from as far away as China and Australia, and are now working on a web version.