Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition 2016
“Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” -William Shakespeare
The Inter-School Shakespeare drama competition organized by the Rotary Club of Colombo North and the Colombo YMCA was held at the Bishop’s College auditorium recently. Several schools participated in the competition. The winning girls’ school was Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo and the winning boys’ school was St. Peter’s College, Colombo.
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| Peterites taking their trophy |
St. Lawrence’s Convent Colombo, Newstead Girls College, Negombo, Visakha Vidyalaya and Devi Balika were the front-runners for the girls. An excerpt of Romeo and Juliet — a tragedy about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families was portrayed by the students of St. Lawrence’s Convent.
The students of Devi Balika brought to life an act from As you like It. An act from the play Twelfth Night – one of Shakespeare’s early comedies – was portrayed by the students of Newstead Girls’ College, Negombo, while the students from Visakha opted once again for a scene from the tragedy Romeo and Juliet. Visakha Vidyalaya was adjudged champions of the girls finals of the Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition.
Royal College, Colombo, Wesley College, St. Peter’s College and St. Joseph’s College made up the four finalists from the boys’ schools. All four plays in the finals were extracts of the Shakespearean tragedy Julius Caesar.
Defending Champions, St. Joseph’s College, Colombo kicked off the competition with their excerpt. St. Peter’s College Colombo portrayed a more contemporary version of the play.
Unlike the other excerpts, Royal College, Colombo, brought to life a rendition of the play which portrays the politics which arises following the murder of Caesar – which was commended by the judges.
Wesley College, Colombo then performed a unique rendition of the play which was also praised by the judges as a perfect wrap to the evening. Wesley College’s Taariq Jurangpathy was adjudged the Best Actor of this year’s competition, for his portrayal of Brutus.
Devinda de Silva of St. Peter’s College was awarded the Best Supporting Actor trophy for his portrayal of Casca. While all four plays received high praise from the judges, St. Peter’s College, Colombo was adjudged Champions of the Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition while Royal College Colombo emerged runners-up. Wesley College and St. Joseph’s College emerged second and third runners-up respectively.
William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and the ‘Bard of Avon.’ His works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses of which the authorship of some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and part-owner of a drama company called ‘Lord Chamberlain’s Men,’ later known as the ‘King’s Men.’
He retired to Stratford around 1613 at 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare’s private life survive. There has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.
His early plays were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth which are considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances and collaborated with other playwrights.
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