RGS Pupils Impress at English Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition
Congratulations to Ridhima Canchi and Dylan Hatchitt who competed in the Regional semi-finals of the English Speaking Union Performing Shakespeare competition, having already made it through a competitive first round.
The Performing Shakespeare competition allows secondary school pupils to perform a monologue or duologue of any Shakespeare text. The competition inspires pupils to express their passion, ideas and imagination through the medium of performance, while simultaneously developing fundamental oracy skills.
This year the standard of the competition was exceptionally high. The judges commended the participants for their impressive skills in conveying their convincing understanding of Shakespeare’s characters and a strong sense of their own personal connection with their performance pieces.
As the first performer of the evening, Ridhima presented a compelling monologue from ‘Twelfth Night’ as Viola, showcasing the full comedy of the scene where Viola realises Olivia may have fallen in love with her while she was in disguise. Later on, Dylan stunned the audience with a wonderful performance as Mark Anthony in ‘Antony and Cleopatra’, performing the scene of Julius Caesar’s funeral with great emotion, in a challenging scene where the character never quite says what he means. Both should be commended on truly exceptional performances, which saw Ridhima progress through to the Regional Final.
Performing Shakespeare Club runs on Thursday lunchtime in The Performing Arts Centre throughout the rest of the academic year. All pupils in Years Seven to Nine are welcome.
Mrs Hannah Bone, Teacher of English