VIEWS & OPINION Shakespeare, reimagined Comment by MIKE TUCKER, head of Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation (CSSF)
This year marked 400 years since the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio, the first time many of his plays appeared in print. Without it we would have conceivably lost plays such as Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Antony and Cleopatra, and As You Like It. As Dr Darren Freebury- Jones, lecturer in Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, summed up for us: “Imagine a world with no Prospero or Cleopatra, no Malvolio, no Feste or Viola, no Rosalind or the Macbeths. Imagine a tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow in which there’s no tide in our affairs, in which we’re not such stuff as dreams are made on. How would we achieve
greatness in a world where wise people don’t recognise they’re fools?”
To mark this anniversary, Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation (CSSF) and Cambridge University Press (CUP) launched What You Will, a creative competition for young people aged 8 – 25. We set them the challenge of creating a speech that Shakespeare himself ‘forgot’ to write. Young people had complete creative freedom and could choose whichever play, character or medium they wanted to work with. We also gave young people, teachers, parents and guardians the resources, top tips and inspiration to write a new chapter, four centuries on.
Our experience of running the world’s largest youth drama project, Shakespeare Schools Festival, has taught us that handing ownership of these famous stories and characters to young people can have a transformative impact on the lives of participating pupils. Each year over 10,000 young people from 400 schools take to the stage through our programmes and boost their confidence, build the essential skills they need for life, and have the chance to shine.
Hundreds across the UK took up our What You Will challenge, and we were overwhelmed by the quality, urgency and playfulness of the entries. We were treated to speeches presented in written format, through videos incorporating music, dance, British Sign Language (BSL) and even pieces of art. The rich variety of competition entries proved that while Shakespeare’s plays are more than four centuries old, they have an extraordinary capacity for reinvention.
Max Jones, 11, who was a competition finalist from Cardiff told us why he was inspired to write a speech for an unnamed character - a servant in the court of Macbeth: “I thought it would be interesting to see this huge story from one of the lesser character’s perspectives. Servants are usually stuck in the corner holding a plate, I thought there were more exciting things that he could be doing.”
Entries also came in for some of Shakespeare’s more underserved characters. When writing for Katherine in Henry V, Heidi Downing, 23 told us she “felt frustrated about how few female characters were written into the script and how brief their moments in scenes were – I wanted to change this by giving Katherine an opportunity to speak up for herself.” In November 2023, The Criterion Theatre stage provided the platform for us to celebrate the astounding creativity of young people and showcase the 14 What You Will finalists. They performed their new speeches on stage alongside performances
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from a host of stars including Alfred Enoch (Harry Potter), Ben Willbond (Ghosts), John Heffernan (The Crown), Eshaan Akbar (Sex Education) and Eliza Butterworth (The Last Kingdom). Shakespeare’s plays are living documents, and they’ve rarely felt more alive than through this competition. The new speeches created by remarkable young writers moved us to laughter, to tears, and even to silence. We heard final words that were never uttered in 400 years of these plays being performed and we have been given new insight into characters that have been performed thousands of times before – but never like this. Young people gave us a masterclass in empathy as they took stories and
worlds that were far removed from their own realities and put themselves in the shoes of the characters they brought to life. Young finalists have spoken of the impact that participating in the competition has had on them. Kira, aged 15, a Ukrainian pupil from Hampshire who arrived in the country as a refugee last year wrote a diary entry for Juliet in her native Ukrainian and then translated it into English and the judges agreed that was a remarkably skilled piece of writing. For Kira, Juliet combines “strength, stubbornness, and contrasting vulnerability with her love for Romeo.”
Kira also paid tribute to her teacher, Jill Strath, who first introduced her to Shakespeare and who was there to support her on the night. Jill said: “We are all incredibly proud of Kira for her achievement and the way she embraced our work and performance with CSSF from the moment she started with us last year. She is an exceptionally brilliant young woman with an exciting future ahead.”
Twenty-two-year-old Aoife, whose winning speech created for Lavinia in Titus Andronicus was hailed by judges as one of the most “theatre ready” pieces they had encountered, said: “This was such an exciting competition to be a part of. There’s a universality to Shakespeare’s stories, as you’re growing your perspective shifts, and you might tune into a different part of the human condition that Shakespeare considers in his plays. Seeing my entry performed by a professional actor on stage was such an incredible experience. I love writing and I also direct, so this is a career path that I’m pursuing. This is such an exciting place to start from and go forwards.”
CSSF has been using the unique power of Shakespeare to transform lives for 24 years, offering students confidence and self-esteem to last a lifetime. By asking young people to fill in the gaps left by Shakespeare we were challenging them to stretch their knowledge, their skills and their creativity, and they delivered.
We are constantly inspired by the extraordinary creativity of young people and the dedicated teachers who help them harness it. Young people should “be not afraid of greatness”. When they bring their own voices to Shakespeare, something truly magical happens.
You can read more about the work of Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation, read the winning speeches, and watch video highlights of the What You Will competition at
https://www.shakespeareschools.org/
January 2024
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