Thousands of young people will gather in theatres next week to watch other pupils perform in one of Britain’s biggest youth drama festivals.
More than a thousand schools have signed up for the first Shakespeare Schools festival. Students from 11 to 16 will perform many of the Bard’s plays in 107 professional theatres across the country.
The five plays that have proven most popular with pupils this year are The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.
The festival runs from Monday until February 10. Tickets are available from pound;5.50.
* www.ssf.uk.com