Shakespeare has undergone a shake-up in 2014.
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More than 90 students from 26 Catholic schools across the Hunter will perform a contemporary version of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at A Night in the Forest this weekend.
The production is the culmination of many months of preparation by students who participate in ASPIRE, the flagship performing arts group within the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle.
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream is quite easy for young people to grasp, but complex enough to be interesting,” ASPIRE director, Anna Kerrigan said.
“It’s comic, it’s fun, and all those elves and fairies offer plenty of scope to utilise the talents of such a large cast.”
Maitland student Dominic Moore from All Saints College, St Peter’s Campus, Maitland, will perform his song Let Them Run.
The song, which will be performed as part of a trailer before each performance of A Night in the Forest, was the winner of a song competition in the lead-up to the event.
Ms Kerrigan said ASPIRE was an opportunity for young people to branch out and try something new.
“Their lives are so caught up in screens - the internet is everywhere, then there’s television, cinema and various ‘i’ devices - but theatre’s right there. It’s so immersive and it’s different every time,” Ms Kerrigan said.
“I really see theatre as a wonderful form of expression, because it allows you to just ‘have a go’. There’s no right or wrong and it’s always a team effort.”
ASPIRE will be held at the Civic Theatre in Newcastle on Friday and Saturday.