Shakespeare schools festival

Pupils from Years Seven and Eight at St Bede's Prep School took part in the Shakespeare Schools Festival this week. It is the largest youth drama festival in the UK. They performed A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Roedean Theatre in Brighton with a cast of 29. Several things were evident from their performance. Firstly the director; Jeanette Adams obviously had an in-depth knowledge of Shakespeare as was demonstrated by the delivery and stage presence of the cast. Secondly, bearing in mind that the play was learnt in just three and a half weeks it was apparent that this talented and versatile cast was adept at performing, an indication of the high profile of drama at their school.

Their performance was brilliantly paced with some superb cameo performances from individuals, notably Sally-Ann Wild as Puck, Daniel Grimston as Bottom and Ciaran Bowling as Oberon. Brooke Mason (Helena), Kayah Worrall (Titania) and Olivia Prince-Smith (Hermia) provided accomplished support that carried the story with their male counterparts Jarod Hardcastle (Lysander), Harvey Cole (Demitrius) and Charlie Carr (Theseus), giving credence to the plot.
It is hard to convey how impressive this performance was, regardless of how much time they had spent rehearsing, bringing tears of joy to the packed audience. As the final curtain fell, we were left with a sense of magic, commitment and a sheer love of theatre.