Shakespeare Schools Festival Returns to Greenwich

The magic of switching from school hall to real stage will excite hundreds of local pupils and students next week when the annual Shakespeare Schools Festival is held for six nights at Greenwich Theatre (Nov 2-7).

Each night four different secondary and primary schools will perform adapted versions of Shakespeare plays - and it's not only an inspirational experience for young people, their teachers and families.

"Every year I'm inspired and reinvigorated by the festival," said James Haddrell, the theatre's Artistic and Executive Director. "It's just wonderful to see the theatre world afresh through the eyes of these young people. When you work in theatre, spending every day working on finance or building issues or contracts, it's easy to forget how magical theatre can be, both for audiences and those given the chance to perform.

"When the young people relocate their performance from their school to the theatre for the first time, when they step out on stage under the theatre lights in front of the auditorium to start their final rehearsals, their excitement is always something very special to see. It helps us rediscover the theatre ourselves each year."

When James joined Greenwich Theatre as press officer in 2001, one of his first projects was the Shakespeare Schools Festival. "I remember being inspired by the way the young people embraced the opportunity to perform these amazing plays.

"I changed many things when I took over as director in 2007, from shifting the programming to establishing the theatre's financial security, but one of the things I've never wanted to change is the Shakespeare Schools Festival."

A regular highlight is the contribution from Corelli College, which has its own Kidbrooke Theatre Company. This year their Year 10 GCSE Drama group, with a cast of fifteen 14-15-year-olds, will be doing a "slightly different" Othello, directed by drama teacher Lee-Diep Chu.

"It's a modern take on Othello with two people playing the lead and two playing Iago, and we're looking at the alter egos and different nuances involved," said Lee. "The play is heavily cut but it's still a great opportunity for them to perform live on stage in front of an audience.

"We've been working on it after school, at weekends and during half term. It's gone very well. The students have put a lot of effort into it and they're the driving force actually and come up with a lot of the ideas.

"It's the first time they've performed live on a professional stage so they're all very excited. We're all looking forward to it, even though it's on the first night and the first day back after half term."

Lee has been delighted by how well students take to drama at Corelli. "It's something Corelli has become known for," she said, "and it's really about the commitment of the arts staff. A lot of our students have experienced drama at a high level and gone off to the industry and been very successful.

"Corelli has established that standard and not let it drop, and that's something we're proud of. One thing that drama's good at is boosting self-esteem and it has a knock-on effect for students, I think."

*The full list of participating schools in the annual Shakespeare Schools Festival at Greenwich Theatre are: City Of London Academy, Corelli College, Thomas Tallis School, Holbeach Primary School, Morden Mount Primary School, Edward Waller Primary School, Boxgrove Primary School, Willow Bank Primary School, Invicta Primary School, Mulgrave Primary School, St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, George Green's School, Eltham College, James Woolf Primary School, Kidbrooke Park Primary School, Hawksmoor School, The John Roan School, St Ursula's Convent School, Riverston School, Horniman Primary School, Eltham Hill School, Bishop Ridley CE Primary School

*Shakespeare Schools Festival Nov 2-7, 7pm. Tickets £10 (Concessions £8, Groups £7, all including £1 booking fee). Box office: 020 8858 7755.

Shakespeare Schools Festival at Greenwich Theatre, participating schools and productions: http://www.ssf.uk.com/taking-part/theatre/greenwich-theatre

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