Queen Anne's Performance of 'The Winter's Tale'

On the evening of 20 November the cast of The Winter’s Tale took to the stage here at Queen Anne’s to take part in an extraordinary night of theatre. 'One Night of Shakespeare' is the largest theatrical event of 2020, showing that out of the darkest times, we can demonstrate the best of ourselves.

In the most difficult and challenging of years for everyone, a year in which we have seen empty theatres, artists around the world have had to employ their boundless creativity and ingenuity to find new ways to inspire and challenge. Our girls are no different, and rehearsing this term had its own difficulties, working in bubbles, with many cast members absent due to self-isolation rules throughout the process.

The night itself was a first for us; performing to an empty theatre, the show was streamed live to the school community. Every girl that took part worked extremely hard, bringing Shakespeare’s text to life, and performing as if the audience were with them in the PAC. They should all be extremely proud of their achievements.

Coram Shakespreare Schools is a cultural education charity that exists to instil curiosity and empathy, aspiration and self-esteem, literacy and teamwork - giving young people the confidence to see that all the world is their stage.

Here's what our cast had to say about their experience:

“It was a very fun and educational experience; I liked the feeling of being part of a team. Shakespeare is hard, but this experience showed me that I could do it.” - Scarlett B (U4)

“I really enjoyed my time in the production, and I felt that my confidence improved, as well as my ability to speak with people. Even on days when I didn’t feel at my best, I came to the rehearsals, and it made me happier every day! I really loved my time and would recommend it to anyone!" - Lavanya B (U4)

“I really enjoyed performing 'The Winter’s Tale', it got me back into drama and made me love acting again! I really liked the story line too, it was fun to rehearse and show. I was very happy with the result!” - Isabella D (U4)

“I loved doing the play, I loved working as a company and everyone is so supportive!” - Mille M (U4)