Theatre group spreads love of Shakespeare
THE cast and crew of Hamlet currently playing at Theatre on the Bay are giving back to underprivileged schools motivating pupils participating in the Shakespeare Schools Festival.
Over the past few days, Fred Abrahamse, the director of Hamlet, lead actor Marcel Meyer and other cast members have attended various cultural events at the V&A Waterfront.
They watched enthusiastic pupils from schools such as Darul Arqam Islamic School, Cedar High in Mitchells Plain and Vista Nova High in Pinelands perform scenes from Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Othello.
On several occasions Abrahamse and his team held discussions with the groups who are currently participating in the Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSF SA) that ended on Monday.
Through the SSF SA, the next one being from May 8-13, pupils get to engage with the texts of Shakespeare in performance and experience firsthand the Bard’s timeless, universal themes and narratives.
Many pupils have never been afforded the opportunity to attend a professional stage production of a Shakespeare play and while many theatres do offer hugely-reduced rates for pupils, it is still beyond the reach of some.
A fund-raising drive at the Waterfront, initiated by Hungry Minds Productions and SSF SA, aimed to raise the necessary booster funding for high school pupils to attend a performance of Hamlet at Theatre on the Bay.
The production is inspired by the performance of the play that took place on board the East India ship Red Dragon off the coast of South Africa in 1608, the first performance outside Europe.
This month is particularly special for Shakespeare enthusiasts as this Sunday marks the 453rd anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth.