Learn some Tudor history and try a free writing exercise

To begin our creative adventure let’s explore the Tudor times that we have stepped into. A time of battle ships and sea voyages, a time of fabulous feasts, folly, music and merriment, a time of theatre, actors, clowns, rogues and vagabonds. Just imagine the hustle and bustle of a Tudor street full of street vendors, busy town folk and wandering cats. Breathe in and smell that freshly baked bread on the breeze but be warned…there are no proper toilets in this time so you might find the air really reeks of something whiffy – yuck!

Look all around you...

Fancy buildings are decorated with Tudor roses. The Tudor rose has red petals on the outside, white petals on the inside and a yellow dot in the middle. Queen Elizabeth I sits on the throne. She is the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn – the King got married six times! Queen Elizabeth is well loved by the people, known for being brave and fierce as well as fair and kind. She often wears a magnificent dress with a Tudor ruff. The Queen adores animals, she loves riding horses and as you might have guessed Her Majesty is absolutely dotty about dogs.

The Queen expects excellent entertainment. Shakespeare is one of her favourite playwrights and she even has a favourite clown called Will Kempe. Clowns and performers often went the extra mile to impress the Queen but Will Kempe took it to whole new levels, he famously Morris danced all the way from London to Norwich – wow!

The theatre was a very powerful place for bringing people together from all walks of life, especially places like The Globe. The stage was open to the sky and thrust out so that audiences could get close to the actors, as though they were part of the story.

Task

Now that we’ve learned lots about the Tudor times let’s get the creative juices flowing. Take a blank page. The idea is to fill it with words. Imagine the Tudor times. Write down the first words that spring to mind. This is called free writing. Relax and let your imagination run free.

Here are some of my words...

elegant, scarlet rose, clowns cartwheel, horses leap, stars twinkle, mighty ships, waves roar, merry lutes, drums beat, tempting pies, sleek cats, dazzling dancers, swirling orange sky, terrific trumpets, crimson frills, spectacular showstopper