All the World’s a Stage – QE’s innovative Drama production

This term’s major theatrical production marks another step in the renaissance of drama at Queen Elizabeth’s School.

Entitled All the World’s a Stage, the play is a series of scenes that have been assembled using the stimulus of Jacques’ famous Seven Ages of Man speech from Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

“In order to bring these scenes together, we have used the long history of Queen Elizabeth’s School to weave an imaginary debate between past students about which scene best represents one of the Ages of Man,” explained Co-ordinator of Drama, Elaine White.  “The initial project and ideas came from me, but as we have rehearsed, the boys have come up with both improvised and scripted scenes.”

The Headmaster, Neil Enright, congratulated Mrs White, her colleagues and the boys on their efforts.

He said: “I fully intend that drama should be a strong element of life at QE. There is a long tradition of an annual play at the School and I am delighted that we have been able to revive this in the past couple of years.  Last year’s production of The Tempest was a significant development, and I feel confident that All the World’s a Stage will mark another step forward for drama at QE, not least because it is the first play to be staged in the Shearly Hall.

“The boys involved have worked hard to hone their skills, to rehearse and to prepare themselves for the challenge of performance. A fine balance of analytical skills, imagination and practical work has been required and I am sure that the boys have enjoyed the testing but fulfilling process of staging the play. Of course, these major productions complement a range of other drama clubs and activities organised by the English department and through the House system,” Mr Enright added.

All the World’s a Stage takes place at 7.30pm on Wednesday 29th February and Thursday 1st March 2012. Tickets are available from the School Shop.