Skip to content
Skip to main content
header search
ahihi OpenLearn
OpenLearn
Menu
sticky search

Festival fever

Updated Tuesday, 23 August 2016
Celebrate the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with our range of free courses, audio and video outlining areas to do with the arts.

This page was published over 7 years ago. Please be aware that due to the passage of time, the information provided on this page may be out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and any views or opinions expressed may no longer be relevant. Some technical elements such as audio-visual and interactive media may no longer work. For more detail, see how we deal with older content.

Blue skies over the Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (the largest arts festival in the world) is in full swing at the moment! To celebrate we've gathered a collection of relevant material to do with the arts. So whether you enjoy a side-splitting comedy performance or fancy performing in a play one day, there's something for everyone. Choose from the following:

Make 'em laugh - learn more about comedy

Unleash your inner playwright with these resources

  • Approaching plays

    Approaching plays

    Do you want to get more out of drama? This free course, Approaching plays, is designed to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of literary plays. You will learn about dialogue, stage directions, blank verse, dramatic structure and conventions and aspects of performance.

    Learn more to access more details of Approaching plays

    Free course

    15 hours

    Level: 2 Intermediate

  • Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

    Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

    What does Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus tell us about the author and the time at which the play was written? This free course, Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, will help you to discover the intricacies of the play and recognise how a knowledge of the historical and political background of the time can lead to a very different ...

    Learn more to access more details of Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

    Free course

    15 hours

    Level: 2 Intermediate

Become a wordsmith with these learning tools on poetry

  • Poetry prescription

    Poetry prescription

    Feeling loving, adventurous or scared? Poetry Prescription will find you the perfect poem to reflect your mood. 

    Take part now to access more details of Poetry prescription

    Activity

    Level: 1 Introductory

  • Approaching poetry

    Approaching poetry

    Do you want to get more out of your reading of poetry? This free course, Approaching poetry, is designed to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of literary texts. You will learn about rhythm, alliteration, rhyme, poetic inversion, voice and line lengths and endings. You will examine poems that do not rhyme and learn ...

    Learn more to access more details of Approaching poetry

    Free course

    20 hours

    Level: 2 Intermediate

Make your performance perfect with these materials

Discover music theory with these articles and course

  • An introduction to music theory

    An introduction to music theory

    Gain an understanding of the basic building blocks of musical theory and notation. This free course, An introduction to music theory, will introduce you to music staves, clefs, rhythmic and pitch values, rhythmic metre and time signatures. This OpenLearn course provides an introduction to music theory pitched at a level equivalent to Grades 1–3 ...

    Learn more to access more details of An introduction to music theory

    Free course

    8 hours

    Level: 1 Introductory

What's great about festivals? Find out here

 

Become an OU student

Ratings & Comments

Share this free course

Copyright information

Skip Rate and Review

For further information, take a look at our frequently asked questions which may give you the support you need.

Have a question?