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Shakespeare Schools Festival facts for kids

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The Shakespeare Schools Festival is a huge drama festival for young people. Schools taking part perform shorter versions of Shakespeare's plays. They act in real theatres across the United Kingdom. Since it started in 2000, over 250,000 young people and their teachers have been involved. The Festival became part of the Shakespeare Schools Foundation in 2016.

How the Festival Started

The Shakespeare Schools Festival began in 2000.

Animated Shakespeare Tales

In 1995, twelve of Shakespeare's most loved plays were made into half-hour films. These were for the Shakespeare: The Animated Tales series by S4C and BBC Wales. Many schools in the UK use these films to introduce students (aged 11-15) to Shakespeare's language and plays. They became a very popular series for BBC Education. The films were re-released on DVD in 2013.

First Festival in Pembrokeshire (2000)

In 2000, Chris Grace and Penelope Middelboe started the Shakespeare Schools Festival. They were involved with Shakespeare: The Animated Tales. Twelve short play scripts from the animated series were given to eight schools in Pembrokeshire. Students from these schools performed the plays over two nights. They performed to full audiences at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven.

Growing Across the UK

The Festival quickly grew bigger each year.

London (2001)

In October 2001, 1,800 students from 60 schools in London performed. They used three professional theatres. A special Gala night was held at the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End. Important people like Cherie Booth QC and Tessa Jowell attended.

Wales (2002)

With support from the Welsh Assembly Government and the Arts Council of Wales, the Festival came to Wales in 2002. Jenny Randerson AM launched the event. 3,000 students from 100 schools performed. They acted in Welsh, English, or both languages. Performances took place in 11 professional theatres across Wales.

Expanding to More Regions (2003)

The Festival started a three-year plan to cover all of England and Wales. A special event was held at 10 Downing Street, hosted by Cherie Booth QC. 8,500 young actors from 340 schools performed in 32 theatres. Three schools even performed at Downing Street for a special visit from Washington state. They also performed for the Arts & Kids 'Million Kids' launch at the Hackney Empire. The Prince of Wales was there to watch.

More Growth in England (2004)

The year 2004 began with a fundraising show at the Peacock Theatre in London. The Prince of Wales and Festival Patron Kwame Kwei-Armah were present. One London school took part in a 'Shakespeare In The Square' event. This was covered by BBC London news. During the Festival, 10,000 students from 380 schools performed in 38 theatres.

Becoming a UK-Wide Event (2005)

In 2005, Tom Stoppard's shorter version of The Merchant of Venice was performed for the first time. It was shown at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House. The BBC asked the Shakespeare Schools Festival to hold a one-day festival across 100 UK theatres. This was on July 3rd as part of their Shakespeare Season. Schools performed from the Shetland Isles to Bodmin. This event helped the Festival become truly national. It also set a world record for the most people performing Shakespeare on one day (7,104). The Festival earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records. That year, 20,000 students from 800 schools performed in 140 theatres.

UK-Wide Festival (2007)

For the first time, the Shakespeare Schools Festival was held across the entire UK. This happened between February 5th and 9th, 2007. 22,000 students from 1,056 schools performed in 110 theatres. A fundraising dinner was held at the Middle Temple. It was hosted by Anna Ford and Charles Dance.

New Projects and Festival (2008)

In early 2008, the Shakespeare Youth Festival (SYF) started. This project gave 16- to 21-year-olds the chance to create their own theatre company. They directed, produced, and performed their own 45-minute Shakespeare plays. 118 groups took part in 35 theatres.

Shakespeare 24 (S24) was a worldwide performance event on April 23, 2008. It started in New Zealand and ended 24 hours later in Hawaii. 65 youth groups from 35 countries performed Shakespeare adaptations. One of the best SYF shows, Jamila Gavin's shorter version of Measure for Measure, was performed by the National Youth Theatre in Liverpool.

The Shakespeare Schools Festival returned in the Autumn of 2008. 10,000 students from 500 schools performed in 60 theatres across the UK.

Partnerships and Master Classes (2009)

In 2009, the Festival partnered with the National Theatre and the National Youth Theatre. These groups helped with workshops for teachers and young actors. Famous directors and actors like Adrian Lester and Phyllida Lloyd gave special classes for teachers. A new play based on All's Well That Ends Well was offered to teachers. Jenny Agutter watched performances at The Unicorn Theatre and became a Festival patron. 10,000 young people from 500 schools performed in 67 theatres.

Continued Success (2010-2011)

In 2010, over 10,000 young people from 500 schools performed in 70 theatres. Harriet Walter became a patron.

In 2011, the Festival held a unique fundraising event. They put Romeo on trial for the murder of Tybalt at Gray's Inn. Festival patrons Philip Pullman and Jenny Agutter acted as witnesses.

The Festival also helped with BBC Learning's Off By Heart Shakespeare project. They held workshops for 2,000 young people. Nine finalists performed their Shakespeare speeches at the main theatre in Stratford. Judges included Simon Schama and Imogen Stubbs.

For the first time, the Festival was offered to primary schools in a trial project. In total, 13,000 young people from 600 schools performed in 80 theatres. Francesca Martinez became a patron.

More Growth and New Patrons (2012-2013)

In 2012, the Festival was invited by the British Museum to run workshops. These were for students visiting the Shakespeare: Staging the World exhibition. 17,500 young people from 700 schools (including 179 primary schools) performed in 90 theatres. Michael Rosen and Ralph Fiennes both became patrons.

In 2013, 25,000 young people from 1,000 schools performed in 120 theatres.

Macbeth on Trial (2015)

In 2015, the Festival decided to put another Shakespeare character on trial: Macbeth. This event was mostly improvised by the actors and lawyers. The cast included Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth and Haydn Gwynne as Lady Macbeth. The event took place after Duncan's death in Shakespeare's play. Macbeth was put on trial for murder. Jeremy Paxman was the foreman of the Jury.

Big Performances and Hamlet's Trial (2016)

In 2016, 27,550 young people from 1,093 schools performed Shakespeare plays. They performed in 131 theatres across the UK. The Festival also staged performances at 10 Downing Street, Westminster Abbey, and a West End Gala. They even performed at the Queen's 90th birthday celebration.

The Festival also hosted the Trial of Hamlet fundraiser. Lawyers questioned characters like Gertrude, played by Meera Syal, and Claudius, played by Tom Conti. Hamlet, played by John Heffernan, was not found guilty of Polonius's murder. Young performers from the Festival shared the stage with these actors.

Patrons

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