Shakespeare 4 Kidz News

The set and production equipment has already arrived and the company members will be following on Sunday, as S4K's Romeo and Juliet gets ready to rock Gibraltar in the final week of a national and international tour that has stretched over nine months.

There will be 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.

There's even a unique Gibraltan flavour running through the cast 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 final week of the tour to help celebrate the end of a highly acclaimed tour. Says JC, "The entire company are buzzing with anticipation about the trip - and we promise an unforgettable week. Don't miss it!"

STARS IN OUR EYES

Brilliant Bard

Having written all about British Company Shakespeare 4 Kidz in 'Shakin' it up' (April issue), we couldn't resist going along to take a look when their show, Romeo and Juliet - The Musical, came to town last month - and boy were we impressed.

We understood the underlying premise: the clever chaps rewrite Shakespeare plays into musicals, updating the language and enhancing the comdedic element in order to make the 16th century plays more kid-friendly. Sure, it sounded great on paper - but the fact that it left a couple of tired hacks actually laughing out loud at the end of a long, busy week is a testament to the actors' (and writers') skills.

We just can't wait for them to come back to Dubai.

TIME OUT DUBAI KIDS (June 2009 issue)

TO BE A MAN – a song originally intended for S4K’s Hamlet – was a highly commended runner-up in the Stephen Sondheim/Stiles & Drewe song competition held on Sunday 31 May 2009 at The Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End.

The joint competition is designed to recognise the best student performer and the best song in a new British musical.

RADA’s Michael Peavoy won the Sondheim competition with Finishing the Hat from Sunday in the Park With George and raised the roof of the Playhouse Theatre with his sensational performance of JC & Matt’s To Be a Man from S4K’s Hamlet.

Judging from the reaction the song and its performance received in the theatre, it would have been a clear winner if chosen by an audience vote. The judges, George Stiles and Antony Drewe, had previously seen “anonymous” lyric and piano vocal sheets of each piece and were able to spend some time before the day of the event pondering the lyrical and musical merits of each candidate.

Commenting on the song on behalf of the judges in his on-stage remarks, George Stiles said “We were very impressed with Matt Gimblett and Julian Chenery’s To Be a Man from Shakespeare 4 Kidz Hamlet. Here was a powerful ballad in a traditional format and you should remember that it is written for a young target audience who would clearly connect to it. It certainly hit the mark!”

The winner of the Stiles & Drewe prize was Olly Ashmore with Wake Up TV, a Two Ronnies-style comedy patter number from the new musical Hot Flush 2.

Ironically To Be a Man was cut from the recent UK and international tour of the production as the show’s running-time was slightly too long.

The Stephen Sondheim Society Prize for the Student Performer of the Year was judged by Edward Seckerson, Richard Balcombe, Kim Cresswell, David Babani and Stuart Piper; and the Mercury Musical Developments Stiles & Drewe Prize was judged by George Stiles and Antony Drewe.

The event was hosted by Rosemary Ashe.

CLICK BELOW to listen to Chenery & Gimblett's TO BE A MAN by Johnny Barr will appear here soon