Shakespeare 24 kicked off in earnest across the UK on April 23rd 2008, with an exciting array of performances taking place.

Jamila Gavin, author and playwright, specially abridged Measure for Measure for SSF and this featured as a world premiere performed by the National Youth Theatre as part of Liverpool's Capital of Culture celebrations.

Directed by Joel Scott, co-founder of Punch Drunk, this  fast-paced physical performance examined the place of sexuality in contemporary society, with a double bed dominating the set.

Their performance was partnered with a powerful production of Macbeth from Archbishop Beck School where a cast of just five actors performed all the roles, using a small selection of costumes and different accents to help differentiate the characters. Lady Macbeth lost her voice to laryngitis the day before the show but through sheer determination and aided by a small microphone managed to pull of a mesmerising performance.

This fantastic production was specially selected from school performances throughout Merseyside during the Shakespeare Youth Festival. 

John Lewis  were kind enough to host the Shakespeare 24 event night  at the Liverpool Playhouse and also provided televisions in the foyers so that the audience could see film clips illustrating the other international performances achieved that day.

In London, from the Greenwich Meridian line, the pupils of Charlton Special School - many of whom have learning disabilities - involved the audience in an interactive, call and response performance of Twelfth Night.

Meanwhile, down in Southampton at the Nuffield Theatre, Priestlands School performed a Midsummer Night's Dream making Titania and Oberon rival editors of Heat and Now Magazines. Aside from this, the school have achieved a very successful cultural exchange with a school in Brooklyn whom they flew over to visit earlier in the year.

We are excited to have achieved the participation of so many rich and varied groups in this first year and hope more groups will join us in 2009!

Shakespeare 24 was a unique international performance event, enabling a global celebration of youth, culture, creativity and Shakespeare and happened in the UK with the support of the Liverpool Culture Company as part of the 2008 Liverpool European Capital of Culture.