THE BARD was celebrated at Solihull School hosted its inaugural Shakespeare Festival.
More than 400 pupils and staff from across the country headed to the school for a day of workshops, lectures and presentations from Shakespearean scholars including Professor Sir Jonathan Bate (University of Oxford/Arizona State University), Professor Rhodri Lewis (Princeton, U.S.A.), Professor Helen Hackett (UCL), Professor Tiffany Stern (Shakespeare Institute) and Dr Sophie Duncan (Magdalen College, University of Oxford).
There was also a Solihull School Dance Company ballet production of Romeo and Juliet.
The day’s schedule was followed by a Festival Finale which featured a production of Titus Andronicus, performed in the school chapel by The Players from Jesus College, Oxford’s Shakespeare Project, a Shakespearean-themed concert from a City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra string quartet and finally, the actress, Dame Siân Phillips in conversation with Old Silhillian and theatre producer, Richard Digby Day.
Dr Stuart Hart, head of English at Solihull School, said: “Few writers have written more profoundly about the human condition than Shakespeare; our festival offered a wonderful opportunity for students from around the country to gather together and think deeply upon the significance of the bard to Western civilisation.”
