Sakshi through to the National Finals of the English Speaking Union Performing Shakespeare Competition at the Gielgud Theatre in London!

In January, Year 9 pupil Sakshi Jha entered herself into a national competition with the English Speaking Union, called 'Performing Shakespeare'.  It was wonderful to hear that Sakshi had successfully made it through to the North West finals, which took place on 7 February, and is now through to the National finals of the competition.

Sakshi worked on her performance in her Drama lessons, and Mrs Dowling, Sakshi’s Speech and Drama teacher, went to see her perform at Altrincham Grammar School.

Mrs Dowling reported:  ‘It was very exciting, she has done so well; she was brilliant, and she won! There were seventeen performances in total and out of the seventeen entries, Sakshi and another boy were chosen to compete in the final round. It will take place on 21 March at the Gielgud Theatre in London, where she will be representing Sheffield Girls'.’

For the competition, Sakshi was required to make a video entry of herself performing a Shakespeare monologue. She chose a monologue spoken by Joan of Arc, from Henry VI part 1, which was then sent off to be adjudicated.

The best entries, including Sakshi’s,  went through to the Regional Finals. where she performed a live version of her monologue.

The competition is intended to allow school pupils to enhance their understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare through speaking and performing, encouraging self-expression, creativity and above all, self-confidence.