The curtains open tonight for the Shakespeare Schools Festival SA

The 13th Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSFSA) is back for its longest season yet. Opening tonight, 8 May, this season will run over three weeks until Saturday, 27 May at the Star Theatre in the historical heart of Cape Town.

This will mark the third time that the SSFSA – Africa’s largest youth drama festival event with a purely Shakespeare focus – will take place within the District Six Homecoming Centre.

Also read: Jungle Theatre Company’s Makhulu Indlovu comes to Simon’s Town

With 38 confirmed groups performing the Bard’s works over 17 days, this year’s festival – themed ‘Unplugged and Illuminated in 2023!’ – will once again light up the stage as the SSFSA showcases burgeoning young South African talent.

The SSFSA is a catalyst for youth empowerment and since launching in 2010, it has created an ideal non-competitive, fully inclusive environment where school-going youth can build confidence, improve on life skills and have their voices heard, acknowledged, encouraged, challenged and respected, according to festival founder and CEO Kseniya Filinova-Bruton.

Picture: Shakespeare School Festival South Africa / Facebook

In order to ensure its inclusivity, the festival welcomes learners with different abilities and physical challenges including the De La Bat School for the Deaf and the Pioneer School for the Visually Impaired.

One of the unique aspects of this much-loved festival is that the duration of each play is no more than 30 minutes. Learners are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild, innovating with their own props, costumes, sets and interpretations, essentially making it their own under the guidance of the Bard’s fundamental elements.

Picture: Shakespeare School Festival South Africa / Facebook

The full range of Shakespeare plays is on offer with texts available in English, isiXhosa, isiZulu and Afrikaans.

Throughout the preparation process, the SSFSA team is also on hand to assist with scripts, acting and directing tips with a number of educational programmes established in the lead-up, to benefit educators, learner-directors and casts.

The SSFSA Programme

8 May 2023

• Lalela Hout Bay
• Generations Blue Moon Montessori School

10 May 2023

• Reddam House
• Blouberg International School

11 May 2023

• Parklands College
• Athlone High School

12 May 2023

• Swartland High School (group 1)
• Swartland High School (group 2)
• Westerford High School

13 May 2023

• Spotlight Youth Theatre
• South Peninsula High School

16 May 2023

• Mitchells Plain High School
• International School of Cape Town

17 May 2023

• Wynberg Boys’ Acting Association
• De La Bat School

18 May 2023

• Parel Vallei High School
• Helderberg Academy of Theatre

19 May 2023

• Generations Imhoff Campus
• Leiden High School

20 May 2023

• The Settler’s High School Drama
• Generations Sandown Institute
• Pioneer School for the Visually Impaired

22 May 2023

• Curro Somerset West, Sitari Estate
• Wynberg Boys’ Junior School

24 May 2023

• Herschel Girls’ School
• Queens Park High School

25 May 2023

• Educasions
• Cedar High School
• Hout Bay International School

26 May 2023

• Christel House South Africa School
• Fishhoek Primary School
• We Few

27 May 2023

• Curro Hermanus Independent School
• Westlake Primary School
• Bay Primary School

Also read:

What you can watch at the Baxter Theatre this May

Picture: Shakespeare School Festival South Africa / Facebook

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