Northern Stage have been working with over 40 young people; year 10 students from Heworth School, Hebburn Original Gangsters community group and members of Live's Youth Theatre on an 8 week project exploring famous speeches and characters from Shakespeare's work. The project culminated with a public celebration of the Bard, with participants from the projects performing some of Shakespeare's best loved, and little known, speeches around the city centre. All the world's a stage...we used Northumberland Street as ours!
40 placards, each printed with a Shakespearean sonnet, appeared around the city centre. Participants, disguised as shoppers, slowly began to read the sonnet as though they were trying to get to grips with the language. Eventually they began to construct their own soliloquies while parading down Northumberland Street. From then on a variety of speeches moved the performers all around the town. They then dispersed as though nothing had happened.
Despite a windy day the performances went perfectly and definitely grabbed the attention of lots of passers by!
A second performance later in the afternoon lead audiences back up to Northern Stage where everyone was invited to perform in a one off Shakespeare Flash Mob where everyone was invited to perform their favourite bit of Shakespeare for exacty one minute. There were no rehearsals or directions - just one great big (albeit short) celebration of the Bard.