BRAAMFONTEIN – Pupils from several high schools took to Joburg Theatre’s Fringe Theatre stage to showcase their theatrical talents at the 3rd annual South African Shakespeare Schools Festival.
The festival, a South African version of the United Kingdom’s Shakespeare Schools Festival, was introduced to the country by EduCape founder Kseniya Fillinova-Bruton in 2010.
Pupils were encouraged to perform abridged, 30-minute versions of Shakespearean plays in their local professional theatres throughout the country.
The Parktown High School for Girls team, with their production of Macbeth, was joined at the theatre by teams from Verney College, Prudens High School, St Ursula’s High School, Naledi High School, Leap School and Mondeor High School. A special performace was also given by Wits University drama students.
“Students who participate gain more than the satisfation and thrill of performing on a professional stage. An entire vocational journey goes into forming a company,” said Fillinova-Bruton.
She said the ultimate success of the performance required students with an aptitude for marketing, filmmaking, sound and lighting, directing, and a range of potential career-shaping experiences.
“Each show allowed teachers to explore new ways of teaching through acting, and the festival provided a platform for equal opportunity, where there were no boundaries for participation. When Vista Nova School joined the festival in 2011, children with cerebral palsy, physical disabilities and other barriers to learning experienced the thrills of the stage,” she said.
The festival was established as an additional education programme aimed at improving language and social skills through performing arts. It offered a non-competitive, supportive and exciting opportunity for young people to nurture and showcase their acting talent.
“I believe learning should be an adventure. Our festival introduces pupils from various cultures and backgrounds to live theatre, with the aim of facilitating the experience of discipline and responsibility which ensues from working in a group,” said Fillinova-Bruton.
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