All kinds of great

Back in March, 150 girls from 22 GDST schools put their hearts and souls into reciting lines from Twelfth Night and exploring the beloved play in a series of interactive workshops at Shakespeare’s Globe.

“What country, friends, is this?”

Using the whole of the Underglobe space (a facsimile of the theatre above), Year 5 girls explored plot, characterisation and signs of status between characters in the play.

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon ’em.”

In small groups, they brought to life each scene and then performed a speed rendition of the entire play as an ensemble, in a ‘story whoosh’. They also toured the Globe and stood upon the main stage to declaim lines to the empty auditorium.

“Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.”

Twelfth Night is full of song and dance, and the girls learned a Tudor dance and sang a contemporary pop classic penned by Henry VIII, ‘Pastime with good company’ – apparently a favourite of Elizabeth I. The Chair of Shakespeare’s Globe, Margaret Casely-Hayford, a GDST alumna (Streatham & Clapham High School), inspired the girls with a lunchtime talk about her career and work in the charities sector.

“If music be the food of love, play on!”

This was the first time that GDST junior and prep school girls had taken over the Globe en masse for a Shakespeare festival – and the first time that Shakespeare’s Globe had hosted a major school group in the Underglobe.