Shakespeare's Half Hours

Overview

The programme shows a selection of highlights demonstrating important stages in the evolution of four London schools' contributions to the Shakespeare School Drama Festival. We jump from school to school in order to see each of their 'shows' at similar points of development. In the process, a variety of dramatic approaches are presented as applied to a range of scenes, both intimate and ensemble.

The following grid sets out the main elements of the programme:

School	Play	Scenes	Key Elements
St Saviour's and St Olave's School, Southwark. Teacher: Irene Bishop	Romeo and Juliet	The Prologue Act 1 Scene 1 – the fight between the Montagues and Capulets Act 1 Scene 5 – Romeo and Juliet's first meeting at the Capulet ball	Creating a large group scene involving stylised performance Directing 'intimate' dialogue
Eaglesfield School, London SE18. Teachers: Denise Hyland and Natalie Wilbourne	Macbeth	(Brief) – Interpretation of the witches (Brief) Malcolm and Donalbain decide to flee (Act 1 Scene 3) Macbeth and Lady Macbeth – the coronation, Banquo's soliloquy and the conspiracy against Banquo (Act 3 Scenes 1–2)	Use of movement and rhythm Putting Shakespeare into own words Hotseating Detailed direction and textwork
Thomas Tallis School, Greenwich. Teacher: Dan Stanley	Twelfth Night	Back-story – the sinking of Viola and Sebastian's ship Malvolio and Olivia – his appearance in the yellow stockings (Act 3 Scene 4)	Various physical theatre techniques including the creation of sound pictures Detailed direction of a scene to create comic effect
Kingsdale School, Southwark. Teacher: Mohammed Dabo	Julius Caesar	Caesar returns from victory over Pompey (Act 1 Scene 2) The assassination of Caesar (Act 3 Scene 1)	The adaptation of Shakespeare to reflect an African cultural context Status

In addition to the scenes managed by teachers there are also a number of sequences showing the theatre professionals Dramarama working with students on aspects of performance such as projection, emotion and rhythm.

The programme concludes with sequences showing the teachers giving their students last-minute pep talks before their one-off performances at the Greenwich Theatre. During the course of these talks, various tips about live performance are highlighted.