Impressive Performances at ESU Shakespeare Competition

Year Seven pupils Lucy Wheeler and Monae Van Vliet recently competed in the first regional round of the English Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition at King’s School, Gloucester. Since September, Lucy and Monae have been learning different speeches from Shakespeare’s plays and have been developing their ability to bring these to life on stage and in performance. In addition to learning their roles, they had to research and write introductions for their scenes to show their understanding of Shakespeare’s language, his life and times, and his skill as a dramatist. Monae chose to perform a speech by Lady Macbeth, and Lucy performed a speech by Helena, a character in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

This is a considerable challenge, which the girls have met brilliantly. Both girls won through to the heat after a first round held in school. At King’s, they competed against schools from across the region and faced some impressive competition, including a national finalist from the previous year. Never before have two pupils from RGS progressed from this stage of the competition. Lucy and Monae will now compete at the Wales and West of England regional final in May. The national final, to be held at Sam Wanamaker Theatre in London, potentially lies ahead after that.

Mr Nicholas Phillips​​​​, Head of English