In a recently held Inter School Competition on William Shakespeare, hosted by the South City International School, the playwright was remembered in fondness through his works as school students try to put up shows and performances all based on his 400 year old legacy which still prevails in all its galore. The event was initiated by a panel discussion on the topic-“Is Shakespeare Contemporary?”. The event saw many a prominent faces take part, such as actor Barun Chanda, professor Ananda Lal, co-founder of Creative Arts Studio Ramanjit Kaur, theatre actor Nivedita Bhattacharjee and dance cum choreographer Vikram Iyengar. But the discussion ended with the unanimous decision that Bard is indeed contemporary, supported by personal views and evidences.
Chanda recalled his college days when he tried playing ‘Hamlet’. Lal on the other hand said it’s difficult to describe Shakespeare in just a few words; even parallel drawn between him and other renowned dramatist form the Greek, Spanish and French period didn’t help much. He is of the opinion that the British colonial rule has made Shakespeare seem a bit more important than other contemporaries of his time but he admits that the variety one gets from his writings with a mix and match of many genres and interests is a rare find. Iyengar has his play “Crossings” based on the character of one of Shakespeare’s characters, Lady Macbeth. He is of the opinion that constant addressing and adaptations of his works by writers and directors over time and space evidences how good he was. According to him, there is that resonating feature in his writing which captures artists’ attention.
Apart from this discussion, the event saw many students participating in fun events such as quizzes and debates. To name a few schools which left a lasting impression on the judges:
- Sushila Birla Girls’ School
- Delhi Public School, Newtown
- St James’ School
- Loreto House
- Sri Sri Academy
- South City International School
St. James’ School, with their excellent creative production, won the award for their play- “An Adaptation of Macbeth” . The play was compact and as a twist, left out Duncan’s presence. A class XII student of the winning team of St. James, Hemanga Bannerjee, gave an insight into the performance. He pointed out that the difficulty with the performance is the complex nature of the character. Also mastering Shakespearean English was a tough ask. But apart from the difficulties he did mention about how much everyone enjoyed playing their part. He mentioned about the fun that they had once they were on stage and was ecstatic at the standing ovation that their play received.
Then there was a quiz contest mainly on the Bard’s life, women characters, plays and films adaptations which turned out to be a close contest but finally saw Loreto House finishing on top. The debate was tricky as it fuelled the age old debate over whether Shakespeare wrote his plays himself and saw a heated round of evidencing and arguments been thrown at each other by the seven participating schools. The Best Speaker award was bagged by Oishik Snegupta of St. James. But The best team award went to the La Martiniere for Girls.
Source: http://goo.gl/dd9IQe
