Bringing excitement, energy and timeless themes to Bermudian audiences is the purpose behind the Bermuda Shakespeare Schools Festival to be held from April 21 to April 24 at the Berkeley Institute.

Festival organiser Josephine Kattan took a group of her Berkeley drama students to participate in the UK festival in 2007, and "it was such a wonderful experience, I had to replicate it in Bermuda, so that kids here could share the excitement, the thrill of rediscovering Shakespeare."

All senior schools and the Bermuda College were invited to participate, and five schools, some public, some private, and the College accepted the challenge, "an impressive result for the first year", Ms Kattan noted.

The timing is awkward, she conceded, as in many cases it has meant a double workload as students prepare for the festival while studying for GCSEs. Nevertheless, the enthusiasm has been very encouraging and the thoughtful reinterpretations of the familiar plays "exciting".

Each night an abridged version of two Shakespeare plays will be performed. Each production must use the same set of bare stage and rostra, only lighting, sound and the actors' skills recreating the dramatic action. A panel of judges will assess the performances, providing directors and actors with feedback.

The highlight of the week-long festival will be the Shakespeare's Birthday Gala Performance on Wednesday, April 23. Following a cocktail reception beginning at 6 p.m., there will be an Elizabethan banquet buffet, complete with lute player. The evening's entertainment will also include a series of excerpts from the six plays.

Bermuda will be one of 74 countries around the world saluting the playwright on that day.

Ms Kattan is anxious that there be strong community support for the festival, as adult recognition of the students' "hard work, extra time and effort" is extremely important.

Ms Kattan's students, some of whom are new to both the stage and Shakespeare, have risen to the challenge of presenting 'Romeo and Juliet'. The discussion during some of their exploratory work is evidence that Shakespeare's themes resonate across the centuries, addressing issues relevant to the lives of Bermuda's 21st century teens.

'Henry V' was chosen by Warwick Academy drama teacher Matthew McGowan because it is not performed as often as the more familiar tragedies, is a little bit different and has an unusual dynamic. To make a 400-year-old play fresh, Mr. McGowan has cast this very masculine drama with females in the leading roles. Henry is played by Izabella Arnold, and the Dukes of Exeter and Gloucester by Shana Parker and Meredith Gillespie respectively. The males have not been left out entirely, as boys are playing minor male characters.

Though an abridged version was provided by the Shakespeare Schools Festival committee, Mr. McGowan edited it further, cutting peripheral action and characters to concentrate on the main thrust of play — Henry must go to France to claim what is rightfully his.

Elements of the action — the Battle of Agincourt, for example — are very visual and include a stage fight carefully choreographed by McGowan, which will appeal to young audiences, and the unfamiliar, more poetic language has been edited to make it more accessible to modern audiences. The action of the play remains relevant — war, terrorism and the invasion of other countries reflect the current climate of global affairs — and watching a play allows young people to "feel it, see it, be a part of it' in a way that reading the text never will.

Izabella Arnold has enjoyed playing the title role "despite the crude comments" of her classmates as "it's nice to get into someone else's shoes". Not only has she crossed a sexual gap; she has also reached across a huge time gap to understand a different point of view, a different way of life.

Though at first glance she has nothing in common with a 15th century English king, she does appreciate the responsibility of being the eldest of four children and a role model. She also empathizes with the young king scorned by his elders for being too youthful and frivolous. Izabella noted that adults still tend to underestimate young people, thinking they can't accomplish what adults can.

She acknowledged that at times the unfamiliar language can present difficulties, but once they get beyond the words, modern audiences can understand what Shakespeare is telling the world — that no matter how hard we try to get along there will be conflict between countries because we have different ideas of the world and how it should be.

"A study in evil" was how Louise Neame described 'Macbeth', the play she is directing. The Bermuda High School drama teacher and her cast have worked hard to avoid cliché and to reveal the truth behind the characters. Instead of "old cackling hags", for example, the three witches are "young, strange and disturbing", an interpretation that will resonate more strongly with today's audiences. Having an all-female cast has been fascinating, as she and her young actresses have been able to explore how tyranny and ambition play out in women. Taiko drumming, performed by music teacher Emma Cowell's students, creates an atmosphere of fear and horror in the play.

"[Shakespeare]'s not boring," declared Samantha Astwood, who plays Macbeth. Although she admitted to having some difficulty maintaining the stance of a warrior, she has found it interesting to go into the mindset of a male.

At the same time, she noted, the "powerfest and tyranny" have a feminine element, and "it shouldn't just be the male seen as the strong figure as he does break down".

Banquo, played by Kelly Gilmour, "is quite a sensible character. He understands Macbeth's ambition but doesn't give into it. He can see right from wrong".

Both young women considered Macbeth "timeless" and drew parallels with Bermudian society in which murderers go free because people are too afraid or have too much to gain to have them brought to justice. The dramatic action will help playgoers unfamiliar with the Elizabethan language. Samantha marvelled that the playwright "can write about such evil and horrific things in such beautiful language" and that "one small analogy can mean so much".

Students of the Bermuda College taking a Shakespeare Studies course are presenting 'The Tempest' and promise to perform some magic during their 45 minutes on stage. Shakespeare's tale is still relevant to the "still vex'd Bermoothes", and the production explores the question "Who's Island is it?"

That question was raised in the first (1959) production of the play in Bermuda, and director Dr. Michael Gilkes stated that the question is not a simple one and remains unanswered. The play reflects the complexity of the society and the magic of the island that can create something fresh and new, "a sea change".

Dr. Gilkes, in discussing the production, noted that a community can't be settled without the coexistence of disparate elements, and that (as Prospero puts it at the end of the play) "the rarer action is in virtue than in vengeance."

** Tickets, available from the participating schools and The Bermuda Bookstore, are $15 for the April 21, 22 and 24 performances; tickets for the Birthday Gala are $100.