Lifetime role played out with works of Shakespeare

Ida Gaskin has spent more than 80 years with William Shakespeare and on Thursday shared her passion with a Wanganui audience.

The Whanganui Regional Museum hosted Mrs Gaskin for a talk on the relevance of Shakespeare to modern society, timed to coincide with an exhibition of costumes inspired by his works.

The 94-year-old former New Plymouth High School teacher who is nationally renowned as a Shakespeare expert is still able to quote the Bard's characters effortlessly. "Sometimes people think I'm going mad when I'm quoting him because they don't realise what I'm doing," she said.

Her love affair with Shakespeare began when she was very young, largely thanks to her mother.

"When I was growing up in South Wales we had lots of books in our house, and I remember reading this book Lamb's Tales From Shakespeare from the 1800s. I couldn't understand the 'from' part and I felt cheated not being able to read the original stories.

"So being one of those nasty, inquisitive children I asked my mother if I could read Hamlet, and she said yes."

Shortly after a local theatre troupe was set to stage Othello and she asked - aged only 10 - if she could go watch. "I came back very upset. She [my mother] asked what was wrong, and I said 'there was this poor black man who killed his wife and he was so sorry about it'. People who say children can't learn Shakespeare haven't tried."

Mrs Gaskin said the key to teaching Shakespeare and his works was not to "make a big deal" out of it.

"I remember going into a class and the teacher said 'today class, we are learning about Shakespeare' - you know that look you get when horses are frightened, you see the whites of their eyes and their ears prick up? That's what she looked like - so if you act like that of course the children won't be into it."

Her experience of teaching the plays to high school children was quite different. "When I was teaching we would read two plays per year, and in one third form class they were reading The Merchant Of Venice - the part where Portia tells Shylock 'you must prepare your bosom for his knife' - and the bell rang. There was this gasp in the room, there was panic at the sound of the bell - they wanted to know if he lived or died. They said 'you can't stop now!', they were really interested in the story."

When confronted with the burning question of why modern Kiwi kids should learn Shakespeare, she makes an historical comparison. "There once was a man named Mallory, who attempted to climb Mount Everest decades before Hillary. When asked why, he said 'because it's there'.

"I see Shakespeare as being the Everest of reading."