The thirteenth Shakespeare Schools Festival South Africa (SSFSA) is taking place in cities around the country over the course of 2023. Its longest season yet is about to commence in Cape Town, at the District Six Homecoming Centre’s Star Theatre. 38 young ensembles will perform their 30-minute productions between the 8th and 27th of May.
This year’s theme is Unplugged and Illuminated in 2023! The learners have been given free rein over their pared-back productions. “We love how casts turn a play on its head and ‘own’ it, always thinking out of the box!" says the festival’s Managing Director Blythe Stuart-Linger. “Imaginations run wild and young people innovate wonderfully with their own props, costumes, sets and interpretations. Participants come out of the festival experience with improved ‘soft skills’ and feeling empowered to walk into their exams more confidently!”
Throughout the preparation process, the SSFSA team is also on hand to assist with scripts, acting and directing tips. Various educational programs are held in the lead-up to the event to benefit educators, learner-directors and casts. Festival founder and CEO Kseniya Filinova-Bruton describes the SSFSA as “a catalyst for youth empowerment”: “Over more than a decade we have developed a non-competitive, fully inclusive environment where school-going youth can build confidence, improve on life skills and have their voices heard, acknowledged, encouraged, challenged and respected.” A number of productions in recent years have been performed in translation (into isiZulu, isiXhosa and Afrikaans).
The SSFSA is Africa's largest Shakespeare festival. The numbers are impressive! Since 2009, across four provinces (Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape), approximately 30,000 audience members have watched nearly 600 productions performed by some 12,500 learners. The festival has also supported almost 700 teachers in their development as drama and performing arts directors, and has worked with 80 guest, student and volunteer directors.
SSFSA 2023 is open for registration to prospective participants in Durban, George and Johannesburg. Visit www.ssfsa.co.za for more information.
Booking for the Cape Town event is through Quicket. Tickets cost R110 and performances start at 19:30.