600 Manchester children love Shakespeare
600 children in Manchester have fallen in love with Shakespeare. And another 170 in Peterborough have also got the bug. What’s going on?
2024 – How was it for you?
End of 2024 – how was it for you? I can’t believe we have reached the end of the year already, but here we are. Thank you for finding the will and wherewithal to work with us for us another incredible year.
Mad March Macbeth Marathon – Triceratops Steak Anyone?
March has been a mad MACBETH month! And we’ve thrown in a couple of MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM workshops for good measure too. It has been a veritable banquet of the bizarre, the brave and the best. Read on for just a taste of the delights we’ve experienced this month. St Michael’s Junior School, Chelmsford Two years ago we visited this lovely school for the first time with THE TEMPEST. How brilliant then that Years 5 & 6 (3&4 two years ago) remembered it so well and were really eager to tell us of their roles last time. It didn’t take long though for the MACBETH Murder Mystery to take hold and hook them in! Menu Choice and Ambitions On the menu for the King’s Banquet at Glamis Castle on the first day in Chelmsford was some traditional fayre: Big Mac ‘n’ Cheese (a delicacy made in honour of the host obvs); caviar; chicken nuggets and a boar’s head……raw!!! If King Duncan had eaten that, perhaps all Lady Macbeth’s dreams would have come to fruition in a more natural and public way! Mind you, the offerings on Day Two, though inventive, were not that much more appetising, – Triceratops Steak; Crocodile Head and a Dead Duck (a relief to all no doubt that it was actually dead!)! When it comes to ambitions – let’s be honest, Lady Macbeth wanting to be Queen is SO predictable! – we had some amazing hopes and dreams, Zoo Keeper was popular, as was footballer and teacher, but how about Conservationist, Tattoo Artist and Wrestler?! Come on! This is what dreams are made of! Nick and I loved our two days with the children and staff of St Michael’s (which also provided us with a cracking lunch each day). Huge thanks to Mrs Orton for organising the visit. We hope we might see you again in another couple of years! St Dominic’s School From Chelmsford, Nick and I journeyed on to Surrey and St Dominic’s, a highly regarded special school. We’ve been here twice before and it is an incredible place. This visit was to work with Year 7 on A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Getting up, putting on a hat, and playing a character is not everybody’s cup of tea, we get that – so Nick and I began the workshop donning hats various ourselves. It wasn’t long before we had a really enthusiastic volunteer who played several parts in the end. Actually, by the end of the first workshop, virtually everyone was wearing a hat and playing a role. And those that weren’t, contributed in other ways – suggesting possible love interests for Titania (“a fat slug”) for example. The second workshop produced some more energetic performances including from a member of staff. Fabulous to see the warm connection between students and teacher. In both workshops there was some concern over the name of the Changeling Boy, (he was thus named ‘Bob’ and ‘Cappy Prometheus’ respectively – and why not?). We also saw and heard two terrific Pucks and, if you’ll pardon the expression, two brilliant Bottoms! Once again huge thanks to Miss Grant and Mrs Pryor for making this visit happen – we look forward to the next time! “I have heard nothing but good things about the day so thank you for ensuring that pupils were engaged and clearly got a lot from the workshops. Until next time.. “ Head of English and Head of Lower School St Catherine of Siena, Birmingham Next stop in the Mad March Macbeth Marathon was St Catherine’s of Siena in Birmingham. This was my second visit to this fabulous school and, I hope, not my last. Once again i worked with Year 6 on MACBETH and Year 5 on A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. First up was Year 6 (they did The Dream with me last year, so veterans of FINDING THE WILL). Aside from the great (and somewhat surprising to the teachers anyway) performances, there were some cracking additions to the menu for the King’s Banquet. In 17 years of FTW workshops, we have never had ‘filet mignon’ on the table! Alongside red wine, champagne and ham sandwiches, who could ask for more? here’s what some of Year 6 thought of the morning: Jaya: I enjoyed how some of us were small characters however at the end it turned out that all of our parts were important and there was a big twist at the end. I liked how Macbeth was a normal person who didn’t expect to be King however soon changed and became a murderer. Veronika: I liked how we all got to play a part and the story was great! Mosiah: I enjoyed the workshop because it was really fun and I liked how we got to re-enact the story and it helped us to actually understand the story of Macbeth. It was really good that even if you didn’t have a main part, you could still join in. Mary: I liked how we were able to challenge our inner actor and how Jules helped us to understand the difficult language that Shakespeare used when he actually wrote it. Noah: I liked how we got to learn new words from 400 years ago and how there is no definite end to the play and we can all make our own assumptions. Akariyo: I liked how Macduff and Macbeth had a sword fight at the end and how we had to act out the battle. Year 6, St Catherine of Siena In the afternoon I left Scotland for the only time that week. I headed to Athens with Year 5 for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. As complicated as this story is (and it is incredibly complicated!), it is fantastic to hear the gasps and laughter when Puck’s endeavours go wrong. It never ceases to amaze me how children keep up with who is in love with whom and, therefore, who needs the antidote. Needless to say, Year 5 at St Catherine’s did not disappoint! Lucas: I loved
Happy Summer Holidays!
A quick count up shows that during the last 10 months we’ve worked with approximately 1000 children ranging in age from 4 – 16.
We’ve covered the country from Merthyr Tydfil to Peterborough, Southampton to Yorkshire and all sorts of places in between!
FINDING THE WILL in Wales
the special guest was Michael Rosen (our Patron), so it was fitting that we were there too.
The big voices were still big, the little voices were a little louder but the church holds 800 people! Again, Mr Shakespeare (who was 459 of course last Sunday) has helped children from 7- 15 to come out of their shells.
Dear Diary…..
The Diary entry of Macbeth on the night he killed King Duncan, as imagined by one pupil in Year 6.
King Duncan set us off with his desire to ‘terminate’ the Thane of Cawdor.
Some of the teachers became actors – an extra thrill for the students watching the staff fall in and out of love at the squeeze of a purple flower!
End Of Term Report!
During the academic year 2021/22 we have worked in 15 Primary Schools and 3 Special Schools with approximately 1450 young people.
A HUGE End of Term Thank You then to all the schools we have worked with this year.
Our wonderful co-founder and director Richard Curnow is heading to the Edmonton Fringe, Canada
The Tempest – a play for our time.
During March we have visited 4 schools, introduced over 500 children and young people to either The Tempest or A Midsummer Night’s Dream and covered almost 1500 miles.
Is it just the climate we are living in? Or is it that young people nationwide are genuinely giving us hope for a better future?