History of the Shakespeare Schools Festival
"What's past is prologue" The Tempest
2010: Sept-Nov - 650 schools - 13,000 young people, 80 theatres with partners the National Theatre (providers of the Teacher Director workshops) and the National Youth Theatre (providers of the Cast workshops).
A contemporary script, Prince of Denmark, written as a prequel to Hamlet was commissioned by the NT from writer Michael Lesslie.
2009: Sept-Nov - 500 schools - 10,000 young people, 67 theatres.SSF launched a 4-year partnership with the National Theatre (providers of the Teacher Director workshops) and the National Youth Theatre (providers of the Cast workshops).
NT directors and actors such as Carl Heap, Dominic Hill, Adrian Lester, Phyllida Lloyd, Hattie Morahan joined Nicholas Hytner in giving master classes for teachers.
A contemporary script based on All's Well That Ends Well, written by Lucinda Coxon, was commissioned by the NT for teachers who had done SSF before.
Jenny Agutter appraised performances at The Unicorn theatre, Southwark and agreed to become a patron.
2008: Sept-Nov - 500 Schools - 10,000 young people, 60 theatres.
As part of the European Capital of Culture year: Shakespeare in the City - over one weekend in July, Shakespeare in 33 venues across Liverpool courtesy of the Shakespeare Youth Festival companies
Shakespeare 24 - an international celebration in 24 time zones on Shakespeare's Birthday, April 23rd.
February- March 2008, Shakespeare Youth Festival, UK-wide 118 groups/ 35 theatres: 16-21 year olds were given the opportunity to set up their own theatre company, to direct, produce, manage, tech, market and perform their own 45 minute abridgement of a Shakespeare play.
2007: Feb - 1056 schools - 22,000 pupils - 110 theatres: For the first time, the Shakespeare Schools Festival is held across the entire UK.
2005: East Midlands, North East & South East England and Wales plus - BBC/SSF One Night of Shakespeare across the UK 800 schools - 20,000 pupils - 140 theatres
Sir Tom Stoppard’s abridgement of The Merchant of Venice was premiered at the Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House by a company of 2004 Festival performers and the National Youth Theatre. During the same year the BBC invited SSF to stage a one-day Festival in 100 theatres across the UK on Sunday July 3rd, as the launch of their Shakespeare Season, One Night of Shakespeare. Schools performed in theatres from the Shetland Isles to Bodmin, from Enniskillen to Margate and set the model for the Festival to become fully UK-national. SSF attained a place in the Guinness Book of Records.
2004: London, North West, East England - 380 schools -10,000 pupils - 38 theatres.
The year started with a fund-raising performance at the West End’s Peacock Theatre in the presence of HRH the Prince of Wales and Festival Patron, Kwami Kwei-Armah. In the summer one of the London schools took part in the National Youth Theatre’s 'Shakespeare In The Square event', securing themselves coverage on BBC London’s regional news.
2003: South West, West Midlands & Yorkshire - 340 schools - 8,500 pupils - 32 theatres
Three schools were picked to perform at a private reception for the Washington state visit in Downing Street, in front of an audience which included Sir Tom Stoppard and Philip Pullman, both of whom have since become patrons. They went on to perform again for the Arts & Kids 'Million Kids' launch at the Hackney Empire in the presence HRH the Prince of Wales.
Embarking on a three year cycle to cover the whole of England and Wales, the Festival was launched nationwide at a reception hosted by Cherie Booth QC at 10 Downing St.
2002: Wales - 100 schools - 2,500 pupils - 10 theatres
With the support of the Welsh Assembly Government, the Arts Council of Wales and Cardiff 2002, Jenny Randerson AM launched the Wales 2002 Festival in the Old Library, Cardiff on 17th September. Pupils were given the opportunity to perform in Welsh, English or bilingually.
2001: London - 60 schools - 1,500 pupils - 3 theatres
The Festival culminated in a Gala night at the West End’s Duke of York’s Theatre, which was attended by Cherie Booth QC and the Secretary of State DCMS, Tessa Jowell, who called the evening “one of the year’s cultural highlights”.
THE LAUNCH 2000: Pembrokeshire - 8 schools - 200 pupils - 1 theatre THE LAUNCH
In 2000, Chris Grace, Director of Animation at S4C and Executive Producer of Shakespeare - The Animated Tales and Penelope Middelboe, Series Editor of Shakespeare - the Animated Tales, launched the Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF). Pupils from 8 schools in Pembrokeshire performed over two nights to sell-out audiences at the Torch Theatre, Milford Haven.
THE INSPIRATION 1992 & 1994:Twelve of Shakespeare’s best loved plays were abridged to half hour scripts for the S4C and BBC Wales series, Shakespeare – The Animated Tales. Ninety per cent of the UK's secondary schools now use the Tales as their introduction to the language and plays of Shakespeare for years 7-10 (11-15 year olds), making it BBC Education's most popular series. In 2009 the films were made available by the DCSF to all English primary schools.
