Second Leg Of 11th Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa Moves From The Masque Theatre To Artscape

The 11th Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSFSA) held at Artscape held in April 2021 was a resounding success. This year twelve schools participated with a total of 225 learners and organisers were delighted with how well the event was received by educators, learners and the audiences that came out in support of the annual event.

The second leg of the event that was scheduled to take place 6-8 May at the Masque Theatre in Muizenberg has been moved to a later date and will now be held back at Artscape from May 19-22, 2021. Explaining the reason for the change, festival Director Blythe Stuart-Linger said that more schools and learners would be taking part in the second part of the festival than previously anticipated, and the decision was therefore made to switch venues. "The Masque is a wonderful theatre, but being a small venue and with the strict social distancing Covid-19 protocols that we are following, the larger Artscape facilities enable us to better protect the health and safety of all our participants, crews and SSFSA teams."

Over the past decade the SSFSA has become Africa's largest Shakespeare youth drama festival that has to date seen the participation of more than 557 schools, over 10,000 youth and 693 educators (pls check numbers are up to date) across the Western Cape, Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Eastern Cape, and audiences totally close to 26,000 people. The SSFSA is an ideal way for young people to explore their dramatic potential in a fun, non-competitive environment where all aspects are managed holistically. Aside from the on-stage aspect the focus is also on the promotion of life skills with a spotlight on literacy, classic literature and the performing arts.

In terms of maintaining accessibility for those unable to attend the performances, all productions will also be filmed and then streamed after the festival wraps at Artscape, at a date that will be announced via the SSFSA's Facebook page.

In the SSFSA schools prepare and perform innovative, abridged versions of the Shakespeare play of their choice, approximately 30-45 minutes in duration. Staging a Shakespeare play is a challenge at the best of times and the SSFSA provides guidance and resources throughout the process. The SSFSA is about strengthening the link between the Arts and Education and uniting and empowering children from across socio-economic spectrum using the transformational power of theatre and specifically the works of Shakespeare, to achieve that goal.

Audiences will be limited to 100 with socially distanced seating arrangements in place. Schools performing between 19 and 22 April include Curro Sitari High School, Herschel Girls School, Curro Century City High School, The Settlers High School and Westerford High School Drama Society.

Tickets cost R50 via Computicket or 0861915800 and Artscape box office on 0214217695. For queries and further info visit www.ssfsa.co.za or email info@ssfsa.co.za.

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