We held a day just for schools and colleges to come see a performance of Romeo & Juliet with a full day of workshops and a Q&A
We welcomed 609 students from 16 different schools to our theatre for a full day of workshops, watch the show and take part in a Q&A.
The morning kicked off with the schools and colleges coming in to meet some of the cast and director. This was followed by an introduction to the show, lead by Director Nicholai La Barrie and scene breakdowns with the cast. We also invited students on the stage to perform some Shakespeare/ Rap lyrics they had come up with themselves.
This was then followed by our Sound Designer/ Composer Mark Melville coming in to do a talk and demonstration around the sound design of the show. This then lead into the entire audience creating a live soundscape of Manchester. Afterwards Annabeth Fernley discussed the costume design and making of costumes for the show. Then we invited 4 students who volunteered to come on stage to be dressed up as Romeo or Juliet. The audience voted if we should dress each of them in traditional Shakespearian garments or more modern day attire. After being dressed they then each did a catwalk on our stage as all the students exploded with excitement and joy.
After a morning jam packed with workshops students were then lead around a live resource pack we had set around the hall. More schools and colleges joined as everyone took to their seats to watch the performance, followed by a live Q&A with the entire cast. A microphone was passed around the theatre for any student to ask unfiltered questions to anyone in the cast.
All in all it was an incredible day filled with joy, excitement and fun. We are very proud we were able to engage with that many young people all at once and fill out theatre with that many incredible young people.
