An important part of the training in The Freedom Theatre School is the discovery of Shakespeare. Currently our students are taking a workshop with British director Di Trevis, who has worked at the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House.
The students learn about the Elizabethan court through its dances, study the structure of the texts by learning about rhetorical speech and poetry. They have to tackle for the first time translations in Classical Arabic as well as the struggles actors universally undergo to make written text their own and to understand complexity of character and how every part will relate to something important in each actors personal experience. “This is why to pitch yourself against some of the most brilliant dramatic text in the world teaches much about acting and more about life”, says Di Trevis.
The company perform as if they are an Elizabethan company acting for the Queen. Each of the nine actors recreate a scene from one of the great plays exploring monologues from Henry V, and Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as Queen Katherine’s plea to Henry VIII, and four famous soliloquies from Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet. The performance ends in the traditional Elizabethan way with a jig!
The students will present their work to an invited audience on May 4th at 15:00. To attend, email media@thefreedomtheatre.org.