“Such stuff as dreams are made of…” Our Weekend Warriors on the Harrow version of ‘Our Day Out’. Friday afternoon we joined 7 other international schools from Bangkok in setting off to Regent’s school, Pattaya who were this years host for the Shakespeare Festival weekend! Oh, and what a weekend it was indeed! 19 Harrovians in total, from years 10 to 12 travelled back into Shakespeare’s time for a full 2 days of studying the legend himself and his world renowned drama and stage play.
Throughout the seminar we took part in various insightful and creative workshops, from the more traditional drama techniques of “Stage Fighting” to the refreshing and both prevailing modern times with “Shakespeare meets Eminem”. Teachers as well as students had classes to attend, and Miss. Daykin, Miss. Briffa and our very own Mr. Michael thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of being a (young) student once again. Which, in the end even turned some frowns upside down!
A special guest from RADA, (the famous Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts) Alex Clifton joined us with his own workshop of “Noises, Sounds and Sweet Airs”. Schools performed Sir. William’s greatest plays like Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, and Twelfth Night. Harrow proudly presented a contrast in our Romeo and Juliet performance, which was the only piece of abstract, non-scripted performance. We Lions truly were ‘The Best That We Could Be’, with the year 11’s stepping in a day before the performance and the year 12’s just 10 minutes before our actual presentation!
Overall it was a stimulating as well as exhausting weekend for all of us. We not only gained valuable experiences, which will without doubt improve our drama skills, but also met new people along the way. It really was amazing to see so many students perform; I can’t wait for next year’s Shakespeare Festival! A big THANK YOU to our three teachers who made this trip memorable and fun with their own jokes and surprises along the way!
Joy Muriel Kaegi Maurer
