Birkenhead School performs ‘Macbeth’ for the Shakespeare Schools Festival
LIPA Friday 9th February, 2007
For the first time, Birkenhead School is participating in the Shakespeare Schools Festival. A unique Arts-education initiative, the festival enables 11-16 year olds in the UK to perform a half-hour production of Shakespeare’s most famous plays in their local professional theatre, in our case the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.
Eighteen boys ranging from year 7 to Sixth Form are taking part, in roles as varied as acting, script writing, directing and lighting design.English teacher Ms. Brown, who is directing ‘Macbeth’, received her Director’s Master Class with theatre practitioners, the Map Consortium. She thoroughly enjoyed the day, commenting: ‘ Working alongside other teachers participating in the Festival, the day included advice on directorial techniques, physical theatre and ensemble work; it has proven to be invaluable in developing ideas, increasing confidence and opening Shakespeare’s work to interpretation. There was a real buzz about the project and since then the boys have embraced the new techniques.’
Rehearsals have been underway for a few weeks, but the next key date is in January when Birkenhead boys will receive their half day workshop, delivered by The National Youth Theatre. The workshops are designed to prepare the casts for their performance and will include a number of exercises. We will also have the opportunity to run through the technical aspects of the production with the in-house theatre technician and the Festival Venue Director.
Finally, February sees the performance itself. Birkenhead School will perform ‘Macbeth’ at LIPA on the evening of Friday 9th February, 2007 to a paying audience of parents, colleagues, schoolchildren and the general public. On the morning of the production, we will have a full technical and dress rehearsal at the theatre; this will also be the very first time that the boys set foot on this stage - a challenge for any actor!The performance will be alongside three other schools that will each perform a different, half-hour, Shakespeare play. At the end of the evening, all of the casts are invited back on stage for an appraisal by a professional from the arts community.We do hope that as many people as possible will come to LIPA to support the production. Details of how to buy tickets will be available soon, so watch this space!
