Shakespeare Schools Festival to return to the Marina!

The Marina Theatre is proud to bring the UK’s biggest Shakespeare celebration of the year to Lowestoft – with performances from a number of local schools.

It will take place on Monday, November 13 at 7pm, with tickets priced at £9.50, Concessions £7 and Groups of 20+ £6.50.

Click HERE to watch a promotional video for a flavour of what to expect.

The world’s largest youth drama festival sees students from primary, secondary and special schools unite on stage for the celebratory finale of a six month journey.

Cultural education charity Shakespeare Schools Foundation (SSF) has recruited over 1,000 schools across the country to perform as part its annual Festival.

Up to 30,000 students will get the chance to perform in one of 136 professional theatres across the UK with 292 performance nights taking place between October and December. Students have the opportunity to showcase their talents with abridged performances of thrilling Shakespeare plays.

Poppy, a Festival participant, says the SSF experience helped her make friends: “Because of the Shakespeare Schools Festival, I was able to bond with lots of people and make friends with people I never thought I would.”

Actor and comedian Hugh Dennis, a patron of SSF, says he is amazed by the impact of the Festival: “The enjoyment the children who take part show and the sense of confidence they gained from both performing and working with the words in palpable, and will surely help them both now and in later life.”

SSF targets students and communities who stand to benefit the most from engagement with the arts. The unique performances build vital life skills in participants and inspire a lifelong interest in culture and the arts across the whole community.

Shakespeare Schools Foundation Chief Executive Ruth Brock says: “We know that Shakespeare is difficult and off putting for many. But we also know that SSF’s unique process, which culminates in the chance to perform on professional stages, has the power to change this perception and to change lives.”

To book, call the box office on 01502 533200 or click HERE.

Shakespeare Schools Festival – Facts and Figures

Shakespeare Schools Foundation is a cultural education charity that gives young people the confidence to see that the whole world is their stage.

• Its annual Festival, the Shakespeare Schools Festival, is unites primary, secondary and special schools in the world’s largest youth drama project.

• In 2017, over 1,000 schools and up to 30,000 young people take to 136 professional stages nationwide, from Aberdeen to Aberdare, Plymouth to Portsmouth, Carlisle to Clacton.

• Up to 280,000 young people have taken part in the Festival since it began in 2000.

• 292 Festival nights will take place across that time at the hundreds of theatres across the country, with up to 23 performances happening simultaneously.

• Each Festival night showcases a half hour abridged performance of a different Shakespeare play from three or four local schools with one interval.

• The Festival changes lives every year. 97% of teachers report an increase in their student’s confidence and 95% say that their students are better able to empathise withe each other. 84% of teachers report that as a result of the Festival, students’ attainment in English improves and 95% say that their students are more enthusiastic about learning.