Not a Bard start! Westminster Academy actors perform Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

ASPIRING actors from Westminster Academy performed in a professional venue for the first time this week with a 30-minute cut of Romeo and Juliet, as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival.
The 17 students, all studying performing arts at BTEC level, performed their adaptation to an audience of more than 300 at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. In addition to performances from other schools, the evening featured a bilingual (English and Russian) staging of Much Ado About Nothing from the Moscow  State School.
Lucy Sands, head of performing arts at the academy, said: “We have been working on the play since June and students have shown dedication and enthusiasm by attending after-school rehearsals every week as well as working hard within their drama lessons. They produced an enthralling and entertaining production. I am very proud of them.”
The teenage actors are now planning to give a repeat performance for their classmates.
CONRAD LANDIN