“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances;…” – William Shakespeare
The 45th Inter-School Shakespeare drama competition organised by the Rotary Club of Colombo North and the Colombo YMCA is being held at the Lionel Wendt Theatre. The semi-finals of the Girls schools and Boys schools were held recently and the finals will be held at the Bishop’s College Auditorium on September 28-29, 2018 from 9.30 a.m onwards.
Speaking to Young Voice, The Presidentof the YMCA, Vijith Peirissays, “The Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition is helping to shape the youth who are interested in joining the drama industry. This year around 1000 students and teachers are really benefitting from this. This competition has produced a lot of talented students in Sri Lanka. We are really proud to say that this year we are conducting this competition together with the Rotary Club of Colombo for the 45th year. This is quite a long time and we are really proud to be together as an organisation conducting the competition.”
This year, 36 Schools are participating in the competition. William Shakespeare’s dramas such as All’s well that ends well, Comedy of Errors, Henry VI – Part III, King Lear, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, Taming of the Shrew and Timon of Athens will be staged by the students. This is by far, the longest standing Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition in the world.
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the ‘Bard of Avon.’ His works, including some collaboration, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses of which the authorship of some is uncertain.
His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare enthusiasts can obtain a ticket for the finals of the competition from the Colombo YMCA office or at the venue gate.
