Scripts

The plays have been abridged to run 30 minutes in performance. Naturally there are many different ways of abridging a script. If you add back in some of the original play or put in a song or movement piece, please ensure that you take out some text to compensate. The performance must not run longer than 30 minutes.

Choice of play

4 different plays are performed on each night in a celebratory, non-competitive environment. The majority of the audience will have bought tickets because of their connection with a school, but are generally hugely supportive of all the schools creating this unique evening of entertainment. An SSF night in a professional theatre is a novel way of introducing casts and audience to a rich variety of Shakespeare’s plays. There are 22 to choose from.

Footnotes in the script
The scripts contain a limited amount of explanation of the text via footnotes. But please don’t rely on this for a full understanding of the text. Encourage each cast member to look up every “alien” word and to share their discoveries with the rest of the cast. To experience the joy of “story-telling” (to an audience) your cast members need to understand the story they are telling. Encourage the use of No Fear Shakespeare and Shakespeare Made Easy versions for this essential “translation” work. A passion for Shakespeare can begin only with an understanding of Shakespeare.