There’s no better way to spend this evening or Saturday evening in Greenwood than watching a group of 11- to 17-year-olds perform 14 famous scenes from 11 of William Shakespeare’s plays.
The cast of youngsters, who all participated in the Shakespeare Boot Camp this summer, give outstanding performances throughout the show, which is directed by Steve Iwanski of the Greenwood Shakespeare Project.
“Shakespeare Summer Scene Fest” opens with the prologue from “Henry V,” which is believed to be the first lines spoken at the opening of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The audience can expect the opening scene to have strong performances, which the young actors continue throughout the show.
Molly Germany takes the spotlight in the following scene with a ghostly performance in Act 1, Scene 1 of “Hamlet.”
Raghav Nallani plays King Richard II in Shakespeare’s “Richard II.” Nallani gives an emotional performance filled with grief and melancholy, as the scene is after the king is greeted with the news that his supporters have all fled to the rebel Bolingbroke.
Lauryn Aaliyah Evans plays Desdemona and Tamilya Thomas plays Emilia in Act 3, Scene 1 in “Othello.” The two light up the stage with their dialogue, and Thomas gives a passionate speech that will stir up claps and cheers from the audience.
Jaylin Smith gives an inspiring performance with his monologue as King Henry V in Act 3, Scene 1 of “Henry V.”
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,” Smith as King Henry V says when he rallies his outnumbered troops while they lay siege to the French city of Harfleur.
Thomas and Nallani give outstanding performances in Act 1, Scene 2 in “Richard III.” Thomas plays Lady Anne, while Nallani plays Richard, Duke of Gloucester. The scene features the villainous Richard as he courts Lady Anne, whom he widowed, in front of the corpse of her father-in-law, whom he murdered. The scene is dramatic as well as humorous as Richard tries to woo Lady Anne.
Evans recites a monologue as Rosalind in the epilogue in “As You Like It.” Evans performs the scene as the boy who was playing the part of Rosalind in his own person directly to the audience, which reflects original Shakespeare productions because all roles were performed by men. Evans gives a great, light-hearted performance as she plays a man who was playing a woman in the epilogue, which signals the nearing ending of the play.
Niobi Elliott caps the show as with an excellent performance as Puck in Act 5, Scene 1 in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” as the Athenian court retires to bed and the fairy world awakes.
Calista Nelms and Ahmad Edwards shine throughout the show in their supporting roles in several of the scenes.
The play also features well-choreographed fight and action scenes that the cast has perfected.
Some include “Romeo & Juliet,” “Julius Caesar” and “Macbeth.”
Overall, the cast of young performers will impress the audience. It’s obvious the group is having fun on stage with the various Shakespeare scenes, and it’s also very clear that the group has put in a lot of time, effort and dedication to put on a quality performance.
• Contact Ruthie Robison at 581-7233 or rrobison@gwcommonwealth.com.
