For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
(Romeo and Juliet: Act 5 Scene 3)
The date: Thursday 13th February 2025 The venue: Shakespeare North Playhouse in Prescot….
The event: The Coram Shakespeare Schools Theatre Festival…. The cast: Malvern’s finest thespians
The play: Romeo and Juliet….
The reviews: ‘….a brilliant performance and the children were a credit to Malvern….such presence, confidence and poise – so professional….’
‘….an absolutely fantastic performance….children were so confident, articulate and enthusiastic….the costumes, props, singing, dancing, acting, script, music – everything was spot on….’
‘….a polished spectacle….the children were totally outstanding….a wonderful evening of entertainment….’
‘Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.’ (Twelfth Night: Act 2, Scene 5)
A cast of Malvern’s ‘greatest’ Shakespearean actors took to the octagonal stage at Prescot’s Shakespeare North Playhouse in February of 2024 in order to perform the most excellent comedy: ‘Twelfth Night‘.
The Coram Schools Shakespeare Theatre Festival is the world’s largest youth drama festival – and we were proud to participate for a third year.
Preparations started in September, with full rehearsals getting underway straight after Christmas. Children demonstrated incredible resilience and commitment from day one. And oh my, did it pay off !
With the festival having a ‘Reimagining Shakespeare’ theme, Malvern’s ‘Twelfth Night’ was set in a Star Wars universe and was replete with light sabers, stormtroopers and even Yoda got in on the action.
Performing ‘in the round’ isn’t an easy thing for professional actors, let alone Y5 and Y6 children. But our cast of 27 amazing children were totally dazzling. They commanded the stage for the entire performance, delivering Shakespearean dialogue with passion and ease.
It was a truly captivating performance – and the children should feel very, very proud of their achievement !
The Malvern Mechanicals
On the evening of Friday 18th November 2022, a composite cast of Y5 and Y6 Malvern actors took to the stage at Shakespeare North Playhouse to perform ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. The photos below were taken at various points on the performance day – including during technical and dress rehearsal.
What’s It All About?
Each year thousands of young people from primary, secondary and SEND schools across the country unite in the world’s largest youth drama festival. A lot of preparation culminates in exhilarating performance evenings; young people playing Shakespeare in professional theatres – raising aspirations and unlocking the potential of students and teachers alike.
