The University of Leicester’s school of English is running a competition in which students from secondary schools will put their own, modern spin on the opening soliloquy of Shakespeare’s Richard III.
The Now is the Winter competition will run in February and March 2014, with a deadline of 28 March for entries. Up to three entries may be submitted from each school.
Taking in 18 schools in Leicester and 63 in Leicestershire, the contest will culminate in the showing of a montage of the entries at various locations in the city.
The winning school will receive a bespoke workshop by 1623 theatre company and a trophy.
The School of English will also run podcasts and masterclasses to educate students about English literature and encourage them to study at university.
An interpretation master class in February will involve students working alongside professional actors in analysing the soliloquy and acting it out.
The project was the idea of lecturer Dr Mary Ann Lund at the School of English at the University.
She said,“This project is open to students from 11 to 18 so, for some, it will be their first brush with Shakespeare.
“I hope it will show them that his plays are designed as performance pieces and indeed that Shakespeare was very skilful at capturing his audience's attention from the opening moments of a play.”
Dr Lund added, “The idea of hearing Richard's voice becoming many voices—female and male, from all over the county, and from many different backgrounds—is very exciting.
“I hope students will take up the challenge of trying new and creative things with the speech rather than thinking about how Shakespeare 'should' be read—there's no such thing.”