THE Young Shakespeare Company kept over 2,500 students from Gibraltar’s upper primary and secondary school on the edge of their seats last week.
The UK professional theatre company put on two daily performances of Hamlet for pupils at John Mackintosh Hall theatre.
Each show started with an interactive session where the actors introduced children to Shakespeare’s ideas about drama.
Then the actors performed a modern-day take of the Hamlet play.
The experienced cast, who often go on to major theatrical success, used several of the students from the audience to play minor characters in the performances.
The show impressed experienced local director Daniel Strain-Webber.
He posted on social media: “What a brilliant and talented group making Shakespeare accessible for our youth – they were transfixed!”
Mayor of Gibraltar Christian Santos, himself a talented drama director and scriptwriter, posted a picture of the performance in progress.
“Enjoying the Young Shakespeare Company’s performance of Hamlet at the John Mackintosh Hall,” he said on social media.
During the week, the actors put on a workshop for more than 20 students from both Westside School and local drama groups.
“It focused on ‘acting Shakespeare’ and gave students the opportunity to work with professional actors to recreate scenes in ‘Hamlet’,” the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
Gibraltar Cultural Services brought the YSC to the Rock with the funding of the John Mackintosh Educational Trust.
“One of the amazing things we find when we visit Gibraltar is how passionate young people are about the performing arts,” YSC Director Jonathan Geelan said last year.
The shows saw both the ministries of culture and education combine to teach children about Shakespearean theatre in a way they can understand it.
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