Young people around the Island are brushing up their Shakespeare ahead of performances at the Gaiety Theatre on 17th October.
For the first time, the Isle of Man is the venue for the Shakespeare Youth Festival, part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival, which involves 500 schools and youth groups and takes place at 65 locations across the British Isles over a three-week period.
What is the Shakespeare Youth Festival?
The Shakespeare Youth Festival encourages young people aged 16 to 18 to create their own companies and direct, design and perform 30-minute adaptations of work by the great playwright, which can be as innovative as they like.
Started in 2000, it has encouraged over 75,000 young people to tread the boards since then, and its patrons include Kevin Spacey, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Tom Stoppard and Lord Puttnam.
Schools choose their own play
Participants chose from nineteen abridged versions of the Bard’s classic plays.
The Department of Education-run Manx National Youth Theatre will perform The Winter’s Tale, as abridged by Sir Arnold Wesker, while Queen Elizabeth II High School will stage a version of Othello, and Ramsey Grammar School will recreate a half-hour adaptation of The Tempest.
Acclaim for the Manx National Youth Theatre
The home-grown event has stemmed from the Manx National Youth Theatre’s highly acclaimed participation in the 2008 Shakespeare Youth Festival, when its members performed at the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts (LIPA).
Festival Director Dominic Fitch described the MNYT’s performance of The Merchant of Venice as "mesmerising."
As a consequence, the MNYT was one of only a dozen theatre companies invited to London in May 2009 to take part in a launch event for this year’s festival.
As some of the most famous names in drama watched, MNYT members recreated the courtroom scene from The Merchant of Venice in one of the pods on the London Eye, high above the English capital.
The Liverpool appearance proved life-changing for one MNYT member, too.
Dan Palmer was invited to apply for a place at LIPA, better known as former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney’s ‘fame school’, and the 19 year old has just begun his studies there, although he is returning to direct The Winter’s Tale.
In May, teachers and youth leaders taking part in the Shakespeare Youth Festival attended director workshops, run by the National Theatre.
Practice makes perfect - students prepare to tread the boards
Between May and September the young companies have been rehearsing. In addition, the cast of the productions have attended workshops run under the auspices of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.
To raise public awareness of the Festival, young people taking part will perform 'Sonnets in the Street' in Douglas town centre on Saturday 3rd October.
Manx National Youth Theatre leader Fiona Helleur said that young members were working hard to perfect scenes.
Love, betrayal, redemption - and magic!
"With its themes of jealousy, obsession and remorse, The Winter’s Tale is an inspired choice of play to perform as it shows of the range of the young actors participating to the best effect," she comments.
"Directed by Dan and with costumes by Jan McNeil and lighting by Jon Paul Christian, this production has all the energy that is typical of a MNYT production."
The enthusiastic students of Ramsey Grammar School's junior drama club are working hard on their version of The Tempest.
Drama teacher Alex Davies says, "Our young actors are embracing their roles with some help from the committed A-level drama group."
Prospero is played by Ciara Howes, Ariel by Bethan Farrant, Caliban by Catherine Devine, Ferdinand by Chris Owen and Miranda by Rachel Coue.
James Barefield, Head of English at Queen Elizabeth II High School, says, "This will be our first entry into the Shakespeare Schools Festival and the students and teachers involved hope to make it a memorable first with their adaptation of the famous tragedy, Othello.
"With the first anniversary of the school’s Shakespeare Society fast approaching, the festival will also provide the perfect opportunity for those pupils involved with the society to showcase all that they have learned over the past year and, most importantly, relish performing something that they are passionate about."
He adds, "The many themes of the play – jealousy, betrayal, love and racism – render it with a timeless quality, making it every bit as significant to a modern audience as it was to a Jacobean one.
"These factors would prove a challenge to any actor, but the cast are following the advice of noted critic Jonathan Bate and being ‘inspired, not intimidated’ by Shakespeare, which will hopefully put them in good stead for an admirable performance in October.
"The play will be quite minimalist and have a contemporary feel that is extremely fitting given the aforementioned timeless nature of Othello.
"By making these decisions about the production, we hope to capture the play in its purest form; stripping away unnecessary and sometimes distracting costumes and props and allowing the acting and the language to take centre stage."
Come and support the performances
Tickets for the festival are on sale, priced ?8, from the Gaiety Theatre’s Hotline (01624 600555), the Isle of Man Welcome Centre at the Sea Terminal or on the night at the Gaiety Theatre.
Pictured: Eva Sansbury and Kaileigh Harrison, two of the talented young actors taking part in the Festival.
