ESU Performing Shakespeare Competition (Years 7-9)

The competition is closed for this year; registration will open again in June 2022 for the 2022-23 season.

From ‘bedazzled’ to ‘scuffles’, Shakespeare was one of the greatest inventors of new words English has ever seen, revelling in the joy of spoken language and all it could achieve. The English-Speaking Union’s Performing Shakespeare Competition encourages Key Stage 3 and home-schooled pupils in England and Wales to discover this joy for themselves, inviting them to perform a monologue or duologue from any of Shakespeare’s texts, in whichever way they choose.

The competition, for students between the ages of 11 and 14, not only brings to life the Shakespeare study requirement in the national curriculum in an innovative and exciting way, it enables students to develop their creativity, their confidence and their ability to express themselves – important skills in the classroom and in the wider world. Teachers are provided with the necessary resources to run a school competition and all students receive feedback. The best entries are sent forward to the regional finals, which include an educational workshop and a performance of their chosen speech.

“Knowing how to express yourself is key to absolutely everything.” (Hugh Dennis: Actor, Comedian & Performing Shakespeare regional final judge.)

• £45 is the main entry cost
• £25 for schools with higher than either 20% FSM or 20% EAL
• Fee waivers can be considered in cases of real need
• The fee is for whole school entry (some schools have all of Years 7-9 involved for that one entry fee).

• Ecah school holds an internal school round.
• Regional Final – normally 3 performances per school (so 3-6 students depending on combination of duologues or monologues) and this includes an hour’s workshop.
• Grand Final – normally 2 qualify from each regional final.

Register Here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/esu2021reg