Jamshedpur Sacred Heart Convent School ‘Celebrates Shakespeare’

Kajal Bhamra as Portia bags first prize in the event Who am I?

Mail News Service

Jamshedpur, April 29: The English Club of Sacred Heart Convent School, celebrated English Day that is observed on the anniversary of the Bard of Avon, William Shakespeare whose plays, poems and ballads continue to form the crux of literary brilliance that remains immortalized through ages, transformations and permanent relevance.

Students between Stds IX and XII organized several intra school events to glorify the many incomparable facets of The Bard.

Educationist and drama enthusiast Ratnabali Sen Gupta and Niloy Mitter, CEO Needlemover Management and theatre enthusiast and actor were the judges of events presented on the occasion.

The programme commenced with an audio-visual presentation by students of Std X. The presentation led the way for other unique stage presentations including ‘Who am I’ (Std IX), Shakespeare’s soliloquies (Std X) and an engaging enactment of scenes from Shakespeare’s renowned plays, ‘As You Like It’ and ‘Julius Caesar’ among others (Std XII).

The students also witnessed a display of 3-D miniature models of the Elizabethan Theatre House. The participants were judged on their performance, oratory skill, stage presence and creativity.

“Such events encourage creative study of Literature and give students a platform to showcase their talents,” observed Principal, Sister Rashmita A.C.

Judges were left spellbound by the meticulous execution and theatrics of budding artists.

Ratnabali Sen Gupta while encouraging the students, said, “The enactments presented by the students were excellent and exceeded my expectations.”

“Organising such innovative events at intra school level gives students an opportunity to prepare and understand the wider aspects of literature and theatre,” said Niloy Mitter.

In the event – Who am I? – participants from class 9 were dressed up as Shakespearean characters like Portia, Shylock, Lorenzo, Antonio among others.

Kajal Bhamra (Std. IX ) depicting Portia stood first.

In the soliloquy segment,  the audience got a taste of powerful speeches from the Shakespearean canon.  They were enthralled with monologues by Hamlet, Macbeth, Shylock and others.

Amna Shamim (Std. X) who delivered a compelling speech attributed to Caliban from The Tempest bagged the first prize.

Class XII students enacted scenes from The Tempest, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It, much to the delight of the audience and the judges.

Std. XII C stood first for an excellent presentation of Act 1, Scene 2 from As You Like It.

Unnati Rai (The Prince of Morocco from ‘The Merchant of Venice’), Isha Hembrom (Morocco’s Aide), Vanshika Kumari ( Rosalind) and  Preet Gandhi (Celia) from ‘As You Like It’ won special mention from the judges.

At the end of it all, the events presented underlined once again the relevance of William Shakespeare’s creativity through centuries that happened at Sacred Heart Convent School while ‘Celebrating Shakespeare.’