Shakespeare Schools’ fest heads to the Baxter
AFTER a successful run at the Artscape Theatre Centre that saw enthusiastic learners from several Western Cape high schools perform to full houses, the Shakespeare School Festival (SSF) is set to start at the Baxter Theatre on Monday.
Running over six days, the festival is an education programme aimed at improving language and social skills through the performing arts.
Educape’s flagship initiative was launched in 2010 by Kseniya Filinova-Bruton with the objective of strengthening the link between the arts and education. Since then, it has grown from an event that attracted 20 learners, to drawing approximately 2 000 youths from across the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Staging a Shakespeare play in a professional theatre is a challenge to be relished, and the festival is an ideal platform for young people to explore their potential in a fun, developmental way.
The festival provides guidance and resources through scripts, training and feedback that equips learners and educators to successfully direct and perform Shakespearean plays.
Schools prepare and perform 30-minute abridged versions of plays. Those taking part this year are from the Western Cape metropole.
Exciting news is that the De La Bat School for the Deaf made their stage debut at the Artscape, performing their version of Romeo and Juliet in South African sign language, and the outreach programme has now extended to communities in Mitchells Plain and Manenberg. The Pioneer School for the blind and visually impaired will also participate.
This is the eighth time that Artscape has hosted the festival and the third year that the event will be held at the Baxter. After Cape Town the festival will travel to George, Grahamstown, Johannesburg, Durban and Bloemfontein.
Performances, open to the public, are from Monday to May 12 at 7pm at the Baxter Theatre. Book through Computicket and Webtickets. For more info e-mail info@educape.co.za