Inter-School: Shakespeare Drama

by Husna Inayathullah

Girls' Schools Winner - Ladies College, Colombo.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages." -William Shakespeare

The Inter-School Shakespeare drama competition organized by the Rotary Club of Colombo North and Colombo YMCA was held at the Bishop's College auditorium recently. Several schools participated in the competition. The winning girls' school was Ladies College, Colombo and the winning boys' school was St. Joseph's College Colombo.

Director, Rotary Club of Colombo North, Dulip Jayamaha said that it must be emphasized that the competition in the past years had been held in a spirit of camaraderie that "the play's the thing."

"Encouraging student participation in a competition of this nature will not only sharpen their talents but also instill in them a value system which will help shape a better society," he said.

President, YMCA, Colombo, Lal N. Withanage said, "This year too the schools have shown a great deal of talent and creativity-but all cannot be winners! Perhaps our greatest achievement through this competition would be to instill in young minds the value of accepting defeat with dignity as much as that of victory with humility."

Boys' Schools Winner - St. Joseph's College, Colombo.

William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon."

His works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses of which the authorship of some is uncertain. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

President, YMCA Colombo, Lal N. Withanage	Director, Rotary Club of Colombo North - Dulip Jayamaha

Shakespeare was born and brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon. At the age of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins Hamnet and Judith. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer and part-owner of a drama company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men.

He retired to Stratford around 1613 at 49, where he died three years later. Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive. There has been considerable speculation about such matters as his physical appearance, sexuality, religious beliefs, and whether the works attributed to him were written by others. Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613.

His early plays were mainly comedies and histories and these works remain regarded as some of the best work produced in these genres. He wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth which are considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances and collaborated with other playwrights.

Pix: Sudam Gunasinghe