Ten of our talented Y8 boys presented a selection of monologues from Shakespeare as part of a national competition run by the English Speaking Union on Friday 28th February. The competition, for pupils aged between twelve and fourteen, required the boys to perform a three-minute monologue from a Shakespeare play, with a focus on vocal flair and understanding of the text.
For this first internal round of the competition, the boys were judged by Old Bedfordian and Royal Shakespeare Company practitioner, Oliver Lynes (02-07). Before enjoying the ten performances, Oliver led a verse-speaking workshop with the boys. He then faced the challenge of choosing three performances to put through to the East Midlands regional heats, a tough choice owing to the quality of acting on display.
“It was a real honour for me to work with such a talented group of boys and to see them all handle Shakespeare’s verse with maturity and understanding,”
Charlie Eggleton’s performance of Rumour’s prologue from Henry IV, Pt. II, Will Hayward’s performance of Edmund’s call to arms from King Lear, and Arthur Proctor’s portrayal of Mark Anthony, from Julius Caesar were the performances eventually selected for the regional round, which is in May.
We wish the boys luck as they aim to reach the final at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theatre in June.
