4 Amazing Ways to get through January!
If you were to ask me “How do you get through the long month of January?”, I’d say “Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet“. Let’s be honest, January is a long, dreary, cold month, where everyone feels tired and fed up. Spring seems like months away and putting one foot in front of the other is joyless. Unless………..you happen to be in certain parts of Essex and London. St Michael’s Junior, Chelmsford January 2026 kicked off in style with two days in this fabulous school. We visit St Michael’s every two years and run workshops for the whole of KS2 over two days. This year it was TWELFTH NIGHT. This is a funny, quirky, bonkers play with a dark side bubbling underneath. Most people are aware that there is a Shakespeare play that features yellow stockings. Spoiler alert – Malvolio, the chief steward (secretly in love with his boss, Lady Olivia), is tricked into wearing them in a forged love letter. How much fun can be had composing that letter! Yellow socks and smiling from ear to ear aside, check out these written compliments supposedly from the lady of the house: “You are very strict and I love it” (Y3) “I like your posture, you are my heart” (Y4) While we’re on the subject of compliments, we could all learn a thing or two from Y5. Viola (dressed as the boy servant Cesario) was given these to try out on Lady Olivia: “You are so beautiful, I fell in love with you faster than a lightning bolt” “You are hotter than a microwave!” I challenge you to use one of those next time you’re on a hopeful night out! When we reached the serious business of Malvolio being imprisoned and made to feel like he was going insane, Y6 used the word ‘humiliated’. An excellent description of how Malvolio, like all victims of bullying, must have felt. We had a discussion with every year group about how easy it is for a good joke to go too far. Y3 encapsulated it with “it’s mean to laugh at him.” And so say all of us. Huge thanks to Mrs Orton for inviting us back in to work with you all again. Not to wish life away too swiftly, but roll on 2028! Woodfield School, Kingsbury From Chelmsford we went straight on to London (and we’re still in the first week of January!). This SEND School is a new one to us. It has a warm and caring vibe and we’re so glad they have found us. THE TEMPEST was the play of choice to get us going with two separate groups of KS3 Learners. We set sail in the morning on The Good Ship Great Kraken Slayer. We had several really enthusiastic volunteers, whilst some students were more comfortable just sitting and watching. Nick and I fit in with whatever works best for them. In the afternoon The Good Ship Dangerous Team was caught in the tempest and there were yet more fine performances. The very best feedback is being invited back immediately and that is exactly what happened – this time for two days. So at the end of January, we returned to work with KS3 again plus KS4 and KS5. Starting with THE TEMPEST once more, KS4 set sail on board The Good Ship Aye Aye Captain Cat Ship (be very careful how you say that!). Despite some initial reticence, pretty soon all the students were donning sashes and hats and were happy to stand up and act out the story. In the afternoon we switched to TWELFTH NIGHT with KS5. Some of the students had a good working knowledge of the play already and we had some cracking performances. With only one female in the group however, we were relieved when she enthusiastically took on the role of Viola pretending to be a boy. She delivered the compliment “You are as beautiful as the sunshine” with passion and a beaming smile – a joy to see! Our final day was spent with KS3 again, this time looking at MACBETH. One of the classes knew the story really well and the other not so much. Either is fine with us. We had some wonderful improvised conversations between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (Nick and I almost went for a tea break and left them to it!). We also had some imaginative descriptions of High Dunsinane Castle (“a dungeon pungent with the smell of onions”) and a, frankly, bizarre addition to the heath (“elephant carcasses”). “Whale poo, chocolate cake and toy trains in vanilla sauce” were popular at the Coronation Banquet, all washed down with “unlimited wine” (which you’d need to be fair swallowing a toy train!). But you know Finding the Will – never a wrong answer just an interesting idea! Enormous thanks to Deborah Wood for finding us, inviting us in and making us feel so welcome. We hope we can work with you again in the future. Great Leighs Primary, Essex A highlight of miserable January every year is our visit to Great Leighs Primary in Essex. We first came to this wonderful school in 2018, so this was our 8th visit (2021 aside – thanks Covid). It was Nick’s 5th year here and the Drama Llama that he and Ffion introduced in January 2024 is still strong within them! ROMEO & JULIET was the chosen play this year. As well as being arguably the most famous love story ever written, it also has a tragic ending which cannot be avoided. Adult themes then for Y3-6 to grapple with. There were some stunning individual performances and some really courageous ones too. It’s a joy to go back to a school year after year and see the progression of the children. Last January, one of our actors in Macbeth only managed to speak about three words; in one scene this year, she was Juliet! As you know, female actors were not allowed to perform in