Shakespeare Schools Festival 2020

The first round of the annual Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa in the Western Cape took place at The Fugard Theatre between 3 – 14 March 2020.

Participating schools prepared and performed 30-minute abridged versions of the Shakespeare play of their choice, and their bonsai interpretations are excellent learning and teaching tools. Staging a Shakespeare play in a professional theatre is a challenge to be relished. The SSFSA was an ideal way for young people to explore their potential in a fun, developmental way, simultaneously making their theatre debut on a professional stage at The Fugard Theatre in a non-competitive environment.

Festival organiser Kseniya Filinova-Bruton remarked: “We are very excited about this new collaboration. We are bringing the festival to Fugard theatre for the very first time this year. There are a couple of factors that led to this new association. Firstly, The Fugard theatre is also celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and will be staging a full professional production of Hamlet, which will be their very first Shakespeare production. The Fugard felt that this is a great opportunity to open their doors to SSF SA and give our schools a chance to perform on their stage.”