How To Get Revenge (in 4 easy recipes)!
Revenge! We all know it’s a dish best served cold. However, Year 5 at St Michael’s Junior, Chelmsford – with whom we worked in January – has taken Malvolio’s Revenge to a whole new level! I was delighted to receive in the post a package of truly amazing pieces of work off the back of our Interactive TWELFTH NIGHT Workshops, and I felt I couldn’t simply file them away. It was difficult to pick just four of the extraordinary Recipes for Revenge because they were all so good. So dip into this short video for a taste of what it’s like to be 9 or 10 with revenge on your mind….. Huge thanks to Mrs Orton and Mr Archer for sharing this incredible work with me. St Botolph’s C of E Primary, Peterborough Honestly, you go years without a doing a TWELFTH NIGHT workshop and then 9 come along at once! After the 5 that we ran in January, 4 more came along in February starting with 2 at St Botolph’s C of E Primary in Peterborough to kick off a Project Week. And revenge was still on the menu! We are lucky enough to visit this lovely school every two years, each time bringing a different Project Week for Years 5&6 to get stuck into. From the tragedy of MACBETH 2 years ago, to the craziness of TWELFTH NIGHT, this really was the sublime to the ridiculous! As always, Fay and I began the week with the Interactive Workshop. To add to your collection of potential chat up lines (see last month’s blog for more sure fire hits!) I give you: “Your eyes are like fireworks!” And if that doesn’t float your boat, hang fire, there are more coming later! Following the workshops, we launched into 3 days of rehearsals before putting it all together on Friday morning. It’s always a little fraught when all 120 actors gather in the hall for the first time. There’s the handing out of props and ensuring everyone has all that they need. And then there are the unexpected absences…..It’s really disappointing for the actors when illness strikes and, after all their work, they are unable to be in school. This time we lost two Sir Toby Belches (too much cakes and ale?). However, some brave souls stepped into the breach and took over at the eleventh hour. That’s the joy of this work, it’s not all about Shakespeare, it’s more about teamwork, focus and raising levels of confidence and self-esteem. There were some terrific performances too. From a lounging, yellow-stockinged Malvolio and a stylish, frankly frightening, Lady Olivia, to servants and sailors who were always reliable and solid, the final performance was all we could have wished for. So take another bow Years 5 & 6 and travel safely on as Shakespeare Ambassadors. Huge thanks to Mr Joyce (our in-house DJ, to whom Fay and I are indebted), plus Miss Pickard and the Friends of St Botolph’s, without whom the week would not have been possible. Shellingford Primary, Oxfordshire I was last at Shellingford Primary two years ago, so it was a delight to be invited back. This is a small rural school where the mixed classes meant I could take the whole of KS2 through TWELFTH NIGHT in two workshops last week. The school does not shy away from Shakespeare as KS1 focuses on A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and KS2 on MACBETH. So it was great fun to introduce them to this ‘unknown’ romp! The darker side of the play – the revenge on Malvolio for spoiling Sir Toby’s party which tips over into bullying – provoked some thoughtful discussion (to be continued in class possibly). Whilst initially we all thought it was hilarious and what he deserved, on further exploration, we concluded that perhaps it was a bit much. “He only spoiled a party after all”. The trouble is that once the Revenge truck is rolling, it just keeps gathering momentum. So when Malvolio yells at the end “I’ll be revenged on the whole pack of you!”, you find yourself secretly hoping that he does. With the question of how Malvolio might get his revenge ringing in their ears, one young imaginative mind suggested to me that Malvolio could murder Maria. I feel a sequel coming on – TWELFTH NIGHT 2 or perhaps THIRTEENTH NIGHT……. Finally, a couple more suggestions for your little book of useful chat up lines courtesy of Classes 3&4: “Your eyes sparkle like the sun” or “Your eyes are like pools of chocolate” (not bad eh?) Enormous thanks to Mrs Roberts and Mrs Ashdown for liaising with me – hope to see you again in another couple of years! Looking forward… Onward into March then and we are Essex-bound once more. Nick and I are heading back to Chelmsford to visit a school new to Finding the Will – St Cedd’s. We’ll be leading workshops on THE TEMPEST and A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM there. Later in the month I am revisiting St Catherine of Siena Catholic Primary in Birmingham to lead Years 5&6 through A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM and MACBETH. So, a bit more revenge to play out in both locations but, as we all know, revenge makes the best drama! I’ll let you know what the Whirligig of Time brings in, next month!
5 Reasons Why Drama in Schools Should Matter
Why does drama in schools, especially Primary Schools, matter?
When you start to list the immediate benefits (never mind the long term ones), you quickly find that luxury turns into necessity.
How you chase your dream (in 1 easy lesson)
Have a listen – I dare you not smile!
Be like Mario and keep chasing your dream..
“We’ll strive to please you” – and guess what?!
At the end of the day, rehearsing a production of TWELFTH NIGHT in 3.5 days is a big ask. Asking 90 eight and nine year olds to do it is an even bigger ask.
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?
Golden Days in January
Years 3&4 set the golden tone of the week with their description of the Castle on High Dunsinane Hill – “Golden floors and red carpets”.
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.
End of the Year – We Made It!
At the end of the year, we’ve worked with approximately 1700 children aged 4-12, in 13 different counties and 1 other country.
Flaming June – well WE were cooking!
A sparky group of children with interesting ideas of how Hermia and Lysander could be together, despite the law of Athens!
You are now official Shakespeare Ambassadors!
“Naming The View was a really special night. Quality writing and performances came together and we were all invested in your every word. We haven’t stopped talking about it.”
Terrific Talent in Tempest Triumph!
Here at FINDING THE WILL, we love helping small voices to get bigger and low confidence to get greater. That happened last week too of course, but what we were less prepared for was the raw talent on show!
If only we could have bottled last week, we would have the ‘Elixir of Performance’ – no matter how small your role, you can still make a huge impression.