November 2011

Students from Sunninghill Prep School’s top year group performed a pacey ensemble performance of The Tempest at The Lighthouse Theatre in Poole as part of the National Shakespeare School’s Festival; the largest youth drama festival in the United Kingdom.  The children showed great commitment and unleashed their creativity in response to this challenge.  The sound and lighting provided by a professional theatre made the students’ performances all the more powerful. This particular production was unique in its inclusivity: every member of Form 8 was involved and all of them handled their role, the archaic language, and the challenges they faced with aplomb.

Donna Fernley, Head of English at Sunninghill Prep School, commented ‘I was impressed by the group who performed with great confidence and focus; they demonstrated an impressive grasp of Shakespearean language and their diction and clear articulation were commended by the festival coordinator.  The movement work, devised by the pupils themselves, also complemented the action brilliantly.’

Later in the evening, we were all moved (most of us to tears) by the extraordinarily powerful Romeo and Juliet, performed by Victoria School, whose talented actors, many  in wheelchairs, showed us how to make the most of our talents, and also how to use language and movement to create meaning. Parkstone Grammar School’s Year 11 students were also very successful in conveying the brutality and madness of King Lear: a tall order in thirty minutes.