Shakespeare Schools Festival
On Monday 9 November twenty-seven of our Remove and L4 pupils appeared in a condensed 30-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch.
Three other schools performed their own adaptations as part of this year’s Shakespeare Schools Festival: Hamlet from Woodlands School, Basildon; Macbeth, The Cornelius Vermuyden School and Arts College in Canvey Island and The Tempest from Broadford Primary School, Romford. The experience gave all pupils involved the chance to experience performing in a professional theatre. At the end of the night, all four casts were invited to return to the stage for a ‘celebratory appraisal’ by the principal director of the Queen’s Theatre.
The Bancroft’s performance was very warmly received, with Deputy Head Marwan Mikdadi praising the cast and director, saying, “Kyril Yeremenko played the role of Toby Belch with such aplomb, that he had the audience in stitches throughout. Congratulations to director Alister Mill, who directed the performers in such a way to get the most from all their performances.”
“The performances were outstanding, the audience was immediately fixated, with the ensemble playing their part to support the great work of the main performers. A magnificent performance by all involved.
Marwan Mikdadi, Deputy Head
Shakespeare Schools Festival is the largest youth drama festival in the UK and the world, offering students from all backgrounds the opportunity to perform Shakespeare on their local professional stage. The SSF works with over a thousand schools and 150 theatres across the country. Author Philip Pullman, the SSF Patron, said, “Every child in every school ought to have the chance to experience this magical process. To bring the enchantment of Shakespeare to thousands of children – there’s no more magical process in the whole of education. Long live the Shakespeare Schools Festival!”
