Pupils from Years 7 & 8 at Feltonfleet School were recently given the opportunity to perform their production of ‘The Tempest’ in a professional theatre. The pupils joined the Shakespeare Schools Festival - a unique and exciting arts-education initiative which enables 11-16 year olds to perform professionally abridged versions of Shakespeare’s best loved works in local theatres. The 25 pupils from Feltonfleet School chose ‘The Tempest’ because they liked the idea of the usurped Duke using magical spirits to regain his rightful place in society and take revenge on his wicked brother

Our performance took place alongside two other productions of different Shakespeare’s, each one lasting 30 minutes. The audience were treated to three very different shows, and the final adjudication was extremely positive and encouraging.

Most notable performances came from Marc Sadler (Prospero), Sasha Morse (Miranda), Benedict Roe (Caliban), Harry Rumble (Ferdinand) and Harry Ashbee (Ariel). Great comedy was provided by Ryan Baitz and Max Rothman (Stephano and Trinculo), and the more elderly characters were portrayed with great maturity by James Evans and Barnaby Findlay (Alonso and Gonzalo). The spirits and sailors (pupils from year 7) were congratulated on their ensemble work, and the onstage musician, Elena Carolides (Cello) was also highly praised.

The cast were also treated to a workshop with National Youth Theatre directors, who worked with them on the plot and more detailed characterisation. Alongside the cast, three pupils were given technical roles - stage manager, sound technician and lighting technician. The whole experience of working in Leatherhead Theatre with professional directors, stage managers and technicians left the pupils enthused and fired up about their forthcoming production. They got a clear sense of how a professional theatre company might work, particularly on the performance day, when they worked through full technical and dress rehearsals, did a warm up and heard their ‘company calls’.