SSF at Central Middlesex Hospital

SSF schools performed to an audience of staff, patients and visitors in the newly-designed atrium of this London hospital.

On Monday 26th March, the first Shakespeare Schools Festival performances in hospitals took place at the new Central Middlesex Hospital.

Staff, patients and visitors gathered in the hospital atrium to see Waldegrave School for Girls’ The Tempest followed by Vyners School’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Both productions were originally performed at the Paul Robeson Theatre, Hounslow as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. To round up the event, performers were taken on a tour of the children’s ward to meet patients and learn more about the working hospital environment.

Candice Hurwitz, Director of Arts for the North West London Hospitals Trust said: "The aesthetics and enthusiasm [of the performances] gave the atrium of the new hospital a special energy that can only be produced by a live performance."

From March 2007, the Shakespeare Schools Festival is taking half-hour productions into hospitals and other non-theatre spaces. This initiative allows new audiences in the local community to experience vibrant and original interpretations of Shakespeare plays, whilst giving participating students the opportunity to showcase their work in unique performance spaces.