English News

Shakespeare came to Kempsey on Tuesday May 24th when Australia’s premier Shakespearean theatre company Bell Shakespeare visited the Band Box Theatre with their production of Shakespeare: The Human Experience. 

English and Drama students from Years 7-10 were treated to a 50-minute journey across the full spectrum of Shakespearean plays, from Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to The Merchant of Venice and Othello.

 Each performance explored key scenes and soliloquies, analysis of Shakespeare’s language, choices and themes and contemporary commentary all wrapped up in a fresh, modern narrative.

The show proved that, to this day, Shakespeare remains unrivalled in his ability to understand humanity through the characters he created. This powerful show used key speeches and scenes from across Shakespeare’s canon to chart representations of individual and collective human experiences and connect students’ own experiences with the universality of Shakespeare’s characters, and the wider world around them.

Organisers complimented the conduct of KHS students, who were all attentive and respectful during the performance. There was also a Q&A following the show, in which students could ask questions about the process undertaken by the ensemble in creating the show.