Shakespeare 4 Kidz News

From the Gibraltar Chronicle  

Shakespeare 4 Kidz :  A delightful Romeo and Juliet Musical

by Alice Mascharenhas

Shakespeare 4 Kidz is back this week with their latest production Romeo and Juliet The Musical. Ballads and rock 'n' roll numbers are the name of the game in a production that has travelled the UK, the Gulf, Syria and now Gibraltar. The show has been playing for nine months and ends in Gibraltar.

Director of the show and Chief Executive of Shakespeare 4 Kidz, Julian Chenery, is glad to be back for the second year in Gibraltar.

Moving the set from country to country is not easy and there are adjustments with the set but essentially this is the same show wherever it has been staged drawing children into the story.

Talking about audience reactions, he says, the end result is the same everywhere.

"There are elements in the show where we try to engage the youngsters into the new areas and there are parts especially towards the end when we were performing in the Middle East which was really effective in the reconciliation of these two warring families" he explained.

Overall wherever one performs, making Shakespeare accessible to schoolchildren of all ages and all generations is hard, but this is very well achieved in this production. I sat with the schoolchildren in the audience and they were certainly drawn in by the story-telling through some delightful songs and the wonderful staging. Shakespeare 4 Kidz rise to the challenge of this ageless tale and they suceed with a very strong cast.

The kids on Tuesday at the first performance were captivated not just by this most famous love story and the long standing feud of the two families but by the energy and vitality of this production.

The John Mackintosh Hall stage was awash with numerous colour changes depicting the tenderness of the love at first sight encounter of Romeo and Juliet and the darker elements of the story. The big screen kept us in tune with the story and worked well as did the effective scene changes.

There are some fine performances in this production. I especially enjoyed Mercutio (Noel Andrew Harron) who immediately found friends in the audience. "Queen Mab" was a joy to watch as Mercutio, Benvolio (Bobby Windebank) and Romeo (Neil Toon) made a wonderful threesome. Romeo and Juliet (Sarah Gimblett) played well together and were certainly believable. I also enjoyed "I'm Juliet's Nurse" played by Nicola Delaney who presented us with some pretty "large" gestures and notes.

Overall this is a fun show for all the family and this year everyone has a chance of seeing Shakespeare 4 Kidz this Thursday at 8pm at the John Mackintosh Hall. Tickets are available at the door before the performance.

Something WICKED this way comes...

The acclaimed Shakespeare 4 Kidz Theatre Company produces musical adaptations of the Bard’s plays in top theatres and venues across the UK and increasingly in other countries of the world. Year after year, we introduce hundreds of thousands of children and young people to the world of William Shakespeare. Daytime performances ensure that school parties can attend during school time and our evening shows are suitable for every member of the family.

Combining an introduction to Shakespeare with a visit to a professional theatre makes the IDEAL SCHOOL TRIP.

Three witches - two friends - one crown.
The story of a noble Scottish warrior who becomes king after hearing the prophecies of three witches, how he murders his way to the crown, and fights to the death to try to keep it - becomes a musical thriller that is guaranteed to keep kidz of all ages on the edge of their seats.
Full of gory murders, weird witches, gruesome ghosts, bloody battles and even a forest that moves, the show includes song and dance, telling the story with many of Shakespeare's original words woven into easy-to-understand modern language.

Great entertainment for people of all ages and ideal for Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3.
The S4K Macbeth autumn 2009 UK tour will open at the Palace Theatre, Mansfield on Tuesday 8th September. 
Please visit the S4K web site for full details in respect of venues, dates and performance times

Click here to go to the article on the Educational Visits UK website

S4K's Romeo and Juliet has opened in Gibraltar at the John Mackintosh Hall on what is the last week of a national and international tour that stretches back to last September. 

There are eight performance in total at the John Mackintosh Hall with an extra special evening show on THURSDAY 18 JUNE at 8.00pm. Tickets are available from Blands in Market Lane.

West End performersin the show include NEIL TOON (Hairspary, Les Miserables) as Romeo and CLAIRE MARLOWE (Whistle Down the Wind) as Lady Capulet; and making her S4K debut in the cast is Nicola Delaney as the Nurse.

There's even a unique Gibraltan flavour running through the company as the real-life fathers of both Neil Toon (ROMEO) and Sarah Gimblett (JULIET) were both born in Gib.

The show's creators Julian (JC) Chenery and Matt (I was born in Gibraltar) Gimblett will be in town during this week to help celebrate the end of a highly acclaimed tour.

Says JC, "The whole company are excited to be spending the final week of the tour on the Rock, a place that !oves to celebrate and recognise its Britishness. We are very proud to be here as part of the celebrations of teh Gibraltar spring festival."