FRIDAY 9AM: The Shakespeare Schools Festival event rolled into town last night to give students of schools in the area the chance to perform on stage, writes Jonathan McGrady.
Sstudents from King Edward VII School, De Lise Catholic School, Humphrey Perkins High School and Bushloe High School treaded the boards, performing Shakespeare plays such as Macbeth, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest, and the all time classic Ro
meo and Juliet.
Each school each performed a 30-minute extract of their play which they have been rehearsing over the past three weeks. The event was sponsored by East Midlands Airport.
Brian Conway, head of government and industry affairs at the airport, said: "I think it is fantastic to see young people performing Shakespeare and demonstrating that Shakespeare is as relevant today as it was when it was first written."
Pam Posnett, the Youth Champion for Melton Council, said: "I am looking forward to seeing the young people perform and enjoy Shakespeare. Their enthusiasm will stand out but how they will interpret something like Shakespeare will be interesting."
I managed to catch up with some of the cast from De Lise Catholic School, who had presented a piece from A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Jasmine Newton, who took up the role of Hermia, said: "The language has been difficult at times to understand but the rhyming makes it easier to remember.
"The audience feedback was fantastic and the applause at the end makes you want to do it all again".
Tom Maksymiw added: "The feeling on stage was great! We have been rehearsing for about three weeks but got the scripts a while before then. We would like to say thank you to our teachers who have been very helpful."
The final performances take place tonight with students from John Ferneley High School, Redmoor High School, Sir Jonathan North College and English Martyr Catholic School taking part.
Call the box office on (01664) 851111.
The full article contains 327 words and appears in Melton Times newspaper.
