It will be midsummer madness when 108 children from 12 primary schools around Hong Kong get together for the annual Shakespeare4All show next weekend.
Organisers of A Midsummer Night's Dream have decided that's just too many children to risk in an interval. So once everyone's on stage in the Grand Theatre of the Cultural Centre, it will have to be fingers crossed for a smooth 75-minute production without so much as mid-show notes from artistic director Dr Vicky Ooi.
But the children, aged from seven to 11, have two intense weeks of Monday to Saturday all-day rehearsals under their belts. 'That was actually the only way we could handle this many children,' said Dr Ooi, one of the founders of the two-year-old Shakespeare4All charity. 'Imagine the logistics of arranging rehearsals during school. Impossible. Plus schools didn't want to be disturbed during exams, and parents didn't want that either.'
Instead, 30 to 60 children in each school first had two terms of 10 lessons per term to learn about the play and Shakespeare. Those who wanted to go further had to commit to learning the lines. 'I committed to giving them all at least 10 lines each in the show - and we met for two full weeks in August when they were all fresh,' said Dr Ooi.
The cast have since met every Saturday to reherse.
The approach is proving popular. A total of 24 schools are signed up for next year's production of The Merchant of Venice.
'Parents are keen because they want their children to learn English,' said Dr Ooi. 'And we want to teach them in an entertaining and fun way through drama. Acting is secondary to that.'