Bringing the Magic of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Alive with Primary School Children

Published on: 4 Apr, 2019
Updated on: 3 Apr, 2019

GSC takes A Midsummer Night’s Dream to primary schools.

By Alice Fowler

Children from 14 primary schools across Surrey are to create their own performances of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, thanks to the Guildford Shakespeare Company and local arts charity, Delight.

Working with GSC actors, the children – all from schools with high numbers of children eligible for Pupil Premium – will be introduced to Shakespeare, often for the first time, and given the chance to play alongside professional actors.

In Guildford, the chosen schools are Guildford Grove and Weyfield Primary.

“For many of the children this will be the only theatre they have seen,” says GSC Head of Education, Ant Stones. “Surrey is generally considered to be a prosperous county, but for many children, this isn’t the case. We feel privileged to have worked with Delight over several years to level the playing field.”

“The children loved the performance! They were all absolutely buzzing afterwards…”

The project lasts over three months, beginning with a specially adapted interactive performance and culminating in a staging of Dream by Year 5 children.

Supported by workshops and teacher-led activities, they tackle all aspects of the production, from performing to design, costumes, staging and marketing. Children’s confidence, social skills, teamwork and engagement in learning are all boosted as a result.

This is the third year of the partnership between Delight and the GSC, which in past years has encouraged eight to 11-year-olds to discover Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth. So far 1855 children and 62 teachers have been involved.

“It is always incredible to see the performances that the children create,” says Kathryn Mills, CEO of Delight, which creates arts and books-based projects to help pupils overcome obstacles to learning. “We can’t wait to see the magic the children will bring to A Midsummer Night’s Dream this year.”