Towards
the end of November, my family, friends and I headed to the Corby Cube for the
Shakespeare Schools Festival.
This
is a brilliant way to get youngsters engaging with the works of the Bard, as
they are given abridged versions to perform with a lot of the 'olde worlde'
words helpfully defined in their scripts.
On
the night we visited, we saw three schools perform, and they all did very well.
Wilds
Lodge School did Coriolanus, Montsaye Academy tackled 'The Scottish Play'
(Macbeth), and Uppingham Community College performed The Tempest.
But
that only tells half the story - so much work and hours upon hours of
rehearsals had gone into each of their productions.
Workshops
were held at the Corby Cube under the guidance of the staff there, dress
rehearsals, evening and weekend practice, stage make-up classes, work done at
home making costumes, learning lines - all these young people, their teachers
and families put so much effort into their plays and it really showed.
These
teenagers completely engaged with the works they were performing - and
considering they were written 400 years ago in a very different age to our own,
that is nothing short of remarkable.
The
Tempest was my favourite though, as it was a very clever interpretation. There were multiple Ariels, a device used
because Ariel is a spirit who envelops the characters at various points in the
plot.
The
young lad who played Prospero has a future on the stage if I'm not mistaken,
and the duo playing Caliban the monster deserve a special mention as they were
brilliantly menacing.
Trinculo
the Jester had the audience in stitches, and I heard it said, and agreed, that
the physicality of the comedy that the actor brought to the role was
reminiscent of a young Julie Walters.
The
teachers and support staff who auditioned the young people, directed them,
coached them and spent many hours of their own time working with them to
achieve the standards of acting we witnessed deserve medals for their
commitment. Well done to all involved.
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