Freedom is months away. One Shakespeare unit stands between Year 12 and the rest of their lives. And the teacher covering the class? A PE sub who absolutely did not sign up for this.
This was the premise of The Shakespeare Project — a wholly original musical devised by 28 students from 13 Sydney Catholic Schools alongside Australia’s foremost Shakespearean theatre company Bell Shakespeare. The production held in May at The Space Theatre, NIDA was also staged with full production support from National Institute for Dramatic Arts third-year students.
Bell Shakespeare worked with the Sydney Catholic School students in a series of workshops to give students a practical experience and training with Shakespeare’s language, focused on a performance approach to Shakespeare’s language, characters and stories.
Bell Shakespeare’s Head of Education and an award-winning playwright Joanna Erskine wrote two original scenes as part of the project, to be performed alongside other new scenes and student work.
“It’s been wonderful to work with Sydney Catholic Schools because of the vast spread and diversity of the schools involved,” she said.
“It is rare to work with so many schools from across Sydney within one project. It’s been a thrilling and creative way to work with schools for the first time, and support students with their Shakespeare engagement.”
Bell Shakespeare teaching artists Tom Matthews, James Thomassen, and Shelley Casey directed the Bell Shakespeare scenes and supported the project through rehearsals and tech.
Sydney Catholic Schools Executive Director Danielle Cronin said the creative arts are essential to a well-rounded education in a world increasingly shaped by AI, cultivating the qualities that make us deeply human.
“As we pursue Magis 2033, we are committed to an education that forms capable and creative students and flourishing human beings,” she said.
“Sydney Catholic Schools is incredibly proud to invest in initiatives like Arts HQ and our system-wide talent development program, the Artist Evolution, giving students authentic opportunities to develop their talents alongside industry professionals and creative mentors.”
Audiences were treated to exactly what they wished Shakespeare had been taught in school: with original songs, genuine classroom chaos, and the creeping suspicion that the Bard might actually have been onto something.
Among the cast were triplet sisters Katerina, Evangelia and Irini Ifandoudas from Marist Catholic College Penshurst. They played the three witches from Macbeth, reimagined as emo teenagers with strong opinions and even stronger eyeliner. Katerina’s original scene was also selected for inclusion in the final production.
“Recontextualising Shakespeare is a fun way to hook new audiences. When my script got chosen, it reassured me I can follow my dream of being a screenwriter,” Katerina said.
Ms Cronin says the breadth and depth of opportunity available to all students from the city’s Eastern Suburbs to the south-western outskirts and the Sutherland Shire is unique to Sydney Catholic Schools.
“There is nothing quite like this program anywhere else, and it is accessible to students right across our Sydney schools. It defies postcodes and financial means.”
“Programs like The Shakespeare Project remind young people that their creativity matters and that beauty, expression and imagination still have an essential place in the world.”
Following its successful season, the show will be made available copyright-free for all Sydney Catholic Schools to perform and use as a teaching resource. Bell Shakespeare has also identified the project as a replicable model, one they hope to see given further life through future student performances.
