That’s
why it comes as a relief to welcome some
active and enthusiastic experiences of
Shakespeare with “Box Clever”
Theatre and from our own highly talented
Year 10 Drama GCSE students. Both initiatives
were very interactive events for Year
9 students who rose to the challenge as
well as finding out how much they really
do know; certainly anything but “Nothing”!
First up, “Box Clever” lived
up to their name by transforming the “Much
Ado About Nothing” set extracts
into both a play rehearsal and a “play
within a play”! Their performance
in the round had everyone on their feet
speaking lines and matching extravagant
gestures to key phrases. Some students
even had walk on parts: Steph Sproston,
we never knew you were fluent in Italian!
For those not currently in Year 9 “Much
Ado” boasts two feisty characters,
Beatrice and Benedick, who constantly
cross swords and berate eachother but
are secretly drawn to one another. Cut
to the rehearsing crew of “Box Clever”
where Vinny and Ems also obviously have
a “past”.
Their
exchanges were used to mirror the emotions
of Shakespeare’s protagonists and
cleverly explored the gender divide too!
It’s true to say that in a brief
hour or so “Box Clever” helped
us explore the changes gone through by
Benedick and Beatrice and also enjoy the
sound and feel of the text. And after
the rehearsal, the play itself and questions
finished our exploration: now we knew
all there was to know.
