Tired, excited and a bit nervous ... this was how I felt as I stepped on stage for the start of the first scene. We had all worked hard for weeks but now it was the big night. All of my family and friends were there, anxious to see me as Sebastian, the King's brother, in Shakespeare's The Tempest. Just before the music started I felt more ecstatic than ever. I really felt I was a sailor in a shipwreck as we tossed ourselves around the stage to Florence & The Machine's "A Ship to Wreck." One funny part was when all the secondary school students from the other plays performed that night said "aww" because the boy who played King Alonso is only in Year 3 and looked so small onstage! Even though he was small, he delivered his lines really well. Drawing my fake sword to attempt to kill Gonzalo was my favourite part. Our costumes were simple but effective - my costume was black leggings, a white top and a golden sash. If I could compare the play to an ice cream flavour, I would choose blueberry because the blue colour represents the shipwreck and the taste is complex. At the end, we got a standing ovation from many in the audience. It was an epic experience!
Review of The Tempest at the Watermans Theatre
This is a review of my experience doing The Tempest with Greenside Primary School as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival at the Watermans Theatre.
This sounds great, I love how you compared your experience to an ice cream flavour, that's such a creative way to examine your experience! How did the contemporary music fit with such a period play, it seems that it worked well for you on stage, what did the audience make of it, was there much of a reaction? Linked to that, did you do more of a modern-day interpretation of the script, or did you keep it traditional? Thanks for posting!