When we log in to the app store on an iPad to search for Heuristic Shakespeare, in the back of our head, a little voice reminds us of those heavy sessions and long essays in college rooms, dissecting Iago, Lady Macbeth and Puck. Why would anyone, the little voice squeaks, use the word ‘heuristic’ for an app that intends to be the newest offering that the acting genius of Sir Ian McKellen has brought forth? Why make Shakespeare sound so stuffy?

Heuristic Shakespeare, a series of apps for iPad, is edited by Ian McKellen and Jonathan Bates