The inaugural RWCMD Shakespeare Prize has gone to James Mace. An alumnus of the National Youth Theatre, Mace is from South London.
The prize focuses on the importance of the power of language and winner, and, says Jonathan Munby, the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s director of drama performance, “working on Shakespeare’s plays gives a depth of craft that is also transferrable to any medium. The different elements of training support each other, challenging and enriching them as actors. If you can speak Shakespeare, you can tackle any text.”
Winner Mace, an alumnus of the National Youth Theatre hailing from South London, was chosen by judges Sir Ian McKellen, RWCMD graduate and Fellow Rakie Ayola, Sean Mathias, Jonathan Munby and head of voice at the college Alice White. McKellen previously took workshops at the college to select the five finalists.
Ayola said, “I'm thrilled that RWCMD has chosen to demonstrate a commitment to classical training in general, and Shakespeare in particular, in such a bold, no nonsense way.
"While it's always been possible to have a successful acting career without uttering a word of Shakespeare, the skills required to analyse, interpret, shape, express and speak the language confidently, will always be useful to any actor, from any background, when working on any script in any medium.”
Mace receives a £5,000 prize supported by the Mosawi Foundation.