Penryn pupils give life to the greats

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances.”

These true words were spoken when the famous English playwright, William Shakespeare’s works came under the spotlight during Penryn College’s Shakespeare – How hard can it be? The play took place on Wednesday September 17.

The cast made their entrance and put their best period attire, accents and mannerisms on display. The Shakespearean smorgasbord had an array of bite-sized interludes, quirky musicals and summarised versions of his most famous plays, with a dash of Mzansi flavour.

The theme was based on Shake-speare’s relevance to society and whether his plays still spoke to the generation of today. The question on everyone’s mind was whether the learners could pull of all the great poet’s comedies, tragedies and histories.

First up was the classic love story of Romeo and Juliet, where two star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the tracks fall in love only to die under tragic circumstances. Penryn’s learners executed the plot to perfection, complete with wooden swords, dramatic death scenes and comical dialogue.

This only wetted the audience’s appetite. The learners duly obliged with the tragedy of Macbeth, complete with Scottish accents that would’ve had Kind Duncan’s army general himself applauding.

Kitted out in kilts and tartan-patterned accessories, the learners did a quick 10-minute summary of the play filled with betrayal, murder and witchery. The audience especially enjoyed the little laugh from one of the three witches, which was timed to perfection. After the drama there was a lighter moment that had the crowd in stitches. The actors summarised the play of Othello into a three-minute rap and made it their duty to put a much-needed fresh spin on things. They also did a breezy rendition of The Tempest and ended off with one of Shakespeare’s most famous works, Hamlet.

“This year’s play was much more challenging than previous years, because there were many grade eights and nines who played the majority of the parts,” according to director, Galia Manicom.

The cast did a brilliant job having practised for only two terms, and one could see the excitement and glee as they performed in front of their friends and family.

After loud applause and cheers, they took one last bow and proceeded to make their final exit in true Shakespearean style.

See the gallery of the concert here