Shakespeare 4 Kidz News

Macbeth - Ashcroft Theatre (Croydon)

Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle

THIS autumn, Macbeth gets the Shakespeare 4 Kidz treatment when it visits Croydon’s Ashcroft Theatre on October 19 (at 1.30pm and 7.30pm) and October 20, 2009 (at 10am and 1.30pm).

Shakespeare 4 Kidz’ plays use the most famous lines from the original texts, weave them into modern language, add some songs and dances into the mix and the result is a two hour entertainment which everyone – even the youngest primary children – can understand.

The whole plot is retained and all the major characters are there too, to tell the blood-soaked story of the murderous Scottish warrior who, egged on by the prophecies of three weird witches and the ambitions of his evil wife, removes every obstacle in his path until he can seize the throne for himself.

Jason Lee Scott (as Macbeth) leads a 14-strong company.

Many theatre folk believe the play to be jinxed, so lots of celebrities have been sending the company good luck wishes, including Stephen Fry, King of the Jungle Joe Pasquale and West End actor Jonathan Pryce, who had his own bad luck stories to tell after playing Macbeth.

“When I played him in Stratford, before the first night Lady Macbeth had an accident and fractured her collar bone. I fell head first down the stairs on stage and for the first time forgot my lines in the middle of a soliloquy. At the Barbican I got stuck in the lift with the three witches and was rescued just in time to make my reappearance.”

Award-winning star Matthew Kelly told S4K: “I’m sending you loads of good luck for your forthcoming production of the Scottish play. When I was at drama college I played the Porter – in a sort of vaudeville fashion! It’s still one of my greatest memories – doing that great play.”

And Star Wars veteran Dave “Darth Vader” Prowse said: “Don’t worry about The Play. The Force will be with you.”

Macbeth has been very well received each of the five times it has toured since its premiere in 2000 and its creator Julian Chenery is confident that the play will be a winner once again. But as he reveals:

“The famous curse is something we’ve had our share of in the past. In the autumn of 2000 we had incessant rain for three months which affected all of our get-ins and get-outs; a national fuel strike which made it nigh impossible to move the production around the UK; the actor playing Banquo hit his head on the windscreen of the cast coach; the actor playing King Duncan went down with Bell’s Palsy making half his face freeze and one of the stage crew walked into a door and fractured her skull. Apart from that the show was a huge hit and has remained immensely popular ever since!”

For more information visit the Shakespeare 4 Kidz Website

Click Here to see the original article on the IndieLondon website

S4K's Macbeth comes to the Ashcroft

Ashcroft
Friday, October 16, 2009, 07:00

Breathing new life into yet another dramatic classic are Shakespeare 4 Kidz, back in Croydon with their take on Macbeth.

The S4K gang, led by Julian Chenery, have gained a great reputation for making the bard's plays accessible to children (and some adults too!), meaning the genius of Shakespeare won't die out for future generations.

With mistaken identities, intrigue, twists and turns, Shakespeare plays certainly can be difficult to follow at first.

And that's why S4K aims to break down the barrier of Shakespeare being old fashioned and complex, to introduce children to the exciting stories underneath.

This time they're taking on Macbeth again, a gory and gruesome tale of how the Scottish warrior became King Macbeth.

Egged on by three wicked witches and his evil wife, Macbeth removes every obstacle in his way, no matter how bloody the battle, to become top dog in Scotland.

Macduff is played by local lad Kirk Barker, who was head boy at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom.

The S4K version is in its fifth tour and combines the most famous lines with modern language, music and dance to keep everyone in the audience gripped, no matter what their age.

A word of warning for those going to see Macbeth, though - the play is rumoured to be very unlucky and strange accidents and mishaps seem to befall companies who perform it. S4K have struggled themselves over the five tours with fractured skulls, Bell's Palsy and trips and falls.

Spooky!

S4K's Macbeth, Monday, October 19 at 1.30pm and 7.30pm, and Tuesday, October 20 at 10am and 1.30pm.

Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon, tickets £16 adults and £9.50 children, go to www.fairfield.co.uk or call 020 8688 9291.

FROM THE CROYDON GUARDIAN 

THE BARD DONE FOR CHILDREN

Theatre: Shakespeare 4 Kidz at Fairfield Halls, Croydon

The notorious Scottish play Macbeth will be getting the Shakespeare 4 Kidz treatment at Fairfield Halls next week.

The new version has kept the most famous lines from the original text and weaved them into modern language, adding songs and dances so even the youngest primary kids can understand.

The plot is retained and all the major characters are there too to tell the blood-soaked story of the murderous Scottish warrior, played by Jason Lee Scott, who, egged on by the prophecies of three weird witches and the ambitions of his evil wife, removes every obstacle in his path until he can seize the throne for himself.

S4K's version of Macbeth has been toured five times since its premiere in 2000 and creator Julian Chenery is confident the play will be a winner, despite the jinx that supposedly surrounds it.

“The famous curse is something we’ve had our share of in the past,” he says.

“In 2000 we had incessant rain for three months which affected all of our get-ins and get-outs; the actor playing Banquo hit his head on the windscreen of the cast coach; King Duncan went down with Bell’s Palsy making half his face freeze and one of the stage crew walked into a door and fractured her skull.

"Apart from that the show was a huge hit and has remained popular ever since.”

Shakespeare 4 Kidz: Macbeth, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, October 19, 1.30pm and 7.30pm, October 20, 10am and 1.30pm, .£16, children £9.50. Call 020 8688 9291 or visit fairfield.co.uk.

CLICK HERE to see the original article on the Croydon Guardian website

Toil and trouble in Radlett

10:45am Friday 16th October 2009

Gory murders, spooky hags, gruesome ghosts, bloody battles and even a forest that moves — that’s what you can expect when theatre group Shakespeare 4 Kidz’s thrilling musical version of Macbeth comes to The Radlett Centre next week.

The whole of the original plot is retained and all the major characters are there too, to tell the blood-soaked story of the murderous Scottish warrior who, egged on by the prophecies of three weird witches and the ambitions of his evil wife, removes every obstacle in his path until he can seize the throne for himself.

Shakespeare 4 Kidz uses the most famous lines from the original text, weaving them into modern language, adding some songs and dances into the mix, and the result is a two hour performance which everyone — even the youngest primary children — can understand.

Macbeth is at The Radlett Centre, Aldenham Avenue, Radlett on Wednesday, October 21 at 1.30pm and 7.30pm and on Thursday, October 22 at 10am and 1.30pm. Tickets: 01923 859291 (£16, under-16s £9.50).

CLICK HERE to see the original article on the Borehamwood & Elstree Times website