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Othello

This academic year our school took part in the Shakespeare School’s Festival at The Palace Theatre with a performance of Othello. Being in a production like this was an incredible life experience and helped us with many transferable skills. It strengthened our confidence in speaking in front of an audience and helped us to make friends and work as a community. The whole experience was amazing as we were treated like professional actors and got to do a workshop to help us with our roles. At times it was a struggle to learn lines, remember cues and understand everything our characters did, but we all supported each other and did it together as a team.

We were very proud of the appraisal we received from the Shakespeare School’s Foundation:

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Westcliff High School for Girls for your fantastic production of Othello as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. It was a brilliant night of theatre, and I’d like to highlight just a few elements that really stood out. From the opening scene, you filled the stage with pictures and drove the action on with a wonderful energy and a perfectly pitched tempo for the drama to unfold. The ensemble storytelling was excellent, with great vocal attack, confident choral speaking and repetition, alongside strong physicality and reaction throughout. You skilfully created both the world of the play and also mirrored the emotional states. The clarity of storytelling was furthered by considered characterisation and excellent vocal, physical and emotional delivery. Your comprehension of the language was clear and the use of contemporary language was well placed in order to reflect the contemporary setting. One of the many stand out moments from the production was the drunken Cassio brawl which skilfully involved the whole company. This was a visual and emotional feast of a plot-driven drama, executed by a focused and committed company. Performing Shakespeare’s words on a professional stage takes courage, resilience, and imagination. You and your teachers should all incredibly proud of what you have achieved.

By Katie Lynn