‘To entertain’ is defined in the Collins English Dictionary as follows:
‘Receive as a guest; amuse, divert, maintain; consider favourably, take into consideration, cherish.’
And I can safely say that, on that basis, Fay, Richard and I have most definitely entertained 450 children during June. Perhaps, more to the point, I should say they have entertained us! The common denominator being Shakespeare. Below are just a few examples of how we were amused and diverted.
Westende Junior, Wokingham
We began the month at Westende Junior – our sixth annual visit to this fantastic school. As always we worked with the whole of KS2 over two days. Each Year Group tackled a different play. Here’s just a flavour of the entertainment.
Y3 – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
What we really noticed was how articulate some of the children were – amazing vocabulary and understanding for seven and eight year olds. When Hermia entered the scene to find both Demetrius and Lysander (her boyfriend, possibly ex at this point) declaring their love to her best friend Helena, we asked “How do you think Hermia might be feeling right now?” The answers were not the usual ‘sad’, ‘angry’, ‘unhappy’ but….“betrayed”, “furious”, “destroyed”. Good work Y3!
Y4 – Romeo & Juliet
Moving up a year to the eight and nine year olds, we went to Italy and the very grown up themes in Romeo & Juliet. Again we got some great vocabulary (“heartbroken”, “distraught”) and some really imaginative responses. The roving reporter asked “What do you do when you see fighting on the streets of Verona?” The reply “I sit in the pizzeria and watch the entertainment!” I’m tempted to say, you couldn’t make it up, but actually they did and we, at Finding the Will, absolutely love it!
Y5 – The Tempest
We set sail on The Good Ship Peaceful Ship (always fun getting your tongue round names like that first thing in the morning!). However, it was up to ten year old Trinculo to entertain the King which he did in style (a Trinculo jig which amused us if not King Alonso). Actually King Alonso was most entertained by a joke provided by one of his sailors:
“Knock, Knock! Who’s there? Europe. Europe Who? Rude!” (Well you can see why that raised a smile I suppose).
With the King laughing at this point in the voyage, he didn’t need the services of the Royal Therapist. Oh were you not aware of that particular Shakespeare character? (Spoiler Alert – more Finding the Will inspired pure imagination).
Y6 – Macbeth
To complete the quartet of plays (all of which Y6 has done with Finding the Will) we went to Scotland for to see Macbeth. Here we were royally entertained with two cracking feasts! To begin with the last supper for King Duncan (though he didn’t know that at the time of course) included pheasant, beer and sushi. I mean if he really consumed all that, he might have saved Macbeth and Lady Macbeth a job, and died of natural causes! No wonder the new King Macbeth and Queen decided to stick to the far more traditional Chinese Stir Fry and Chocolate Fondue.
Y6 now go on as Shakespeare Ambassadors with the knowledge of four plays and the courage to tell anyone who says ‘Shakespeare’s boring’ that they are “Wrong and here’s why!…….”
Collingbourne Primary, Wiltshire
After eight years, Finding the Will returned to Collingbourne Primary in Wiltshire. This small rural village school is in a delightful setting, surrounded by fields and nearby Salisbury Plain. Here, we worked with the whole school from Reception right through to Y6 on A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM.
Over the course of four days, the four wildlife classes (Foxes, Hedgehogs, Otters and Kingfishers) learned lines, moves and (in some cases) dance moves and performed to a packed house on Friday afternoon. For some, this was a real learning curve.
Being pushed well out of your comfort zone is never easy. However, tremendous effort was put in by everyone throughout the week and that’s what Finding the Will Project Weeks are all about. The final performance is the goal, the achievement if you like, but the work and the commitment that the children give during the week, is the most important aspect of what we do. So for those whose nerves got the better of them on the day, don’t worry, we know what you did during the week! And for those who covered at the very last minute, thank you. 4-11 year olds performing Shakespeare in 4 days is no mean feat.
When asked what the response would be to the assertion that ‘Shakespeare is boring’, a young Kingfisher (Y5/6) said “I’d say, think again”. Our work here is done!
Thanks to Mrs May and Mrs Phillips for getting back in touch and inviting us in once more.
Barkston & Syston Primary, Lincolnshire
Talking of 4-11 year olds performing Shakespeare in 4 days, Richard and I finished off June in style (and insane heat) at Barkston & Syston CE Primary, a gorgeous little school in Lincolnshire. This was our fourth visit in five years and this time we tackled the tragedy of ROMEO & JULIET.
There were many entertaining moments here, not least the five year old Romeo & Juliet blowing kisses to each other after their secret wedding. You can always rely on the cute factor to steal the show! Yet again though, we saw some real effort going into some truly courageous performances. It takes guts to act out the iconic balcony scene at any age, but when you’re only eight years old……. And while I’m on the subject of the balcony, check out this incredible piece of portable scenery (Mrs Brown, you did not disappoint!)
All 96 actors did an amazing job and that’s without taking into consideration the record-breaking temperature. Enormous thanks to Miss Lyon and every one of your exceptional members of staff. Not only did they drill the actors when they were not with us, but they also engineered a flawless conveyor belt system during the performance. This reduced the number of actors in the hall at any one time and kept cast and audience alike as cool as possible in the almost unbearable heat.
And finally….
Fay and I have also been back to Woodfield School in Kingsbury, a fantastic SEND School which Nick and I visited for the first time in January. More on that in a couple of weeks, just before we head off for summer. There are more days to come there and already we have been hugely entertained!
Until we meet again then, continue to entertain, amuse, divert and consider favourably all those around you.