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The Story

The Hunt for William Shakespeare tells the story of two country boys, Edmund and John, who are enthralled when a troupe of strolling players performs on their village green. They leave their friends Kate and Anne and run away to London to find William Shakespeare, the most famous playwright and actor of them all - and to fulfil their dream of becoming actors. But London is a dangerous place and they have all sorts of adventures along the way, ultimately helping to build The Globe Theatre and perform in the opening play.

Within the script there are opportunities for dance/movement set pieces as well the chance to perform Shakespeare excerpts of your choice.

A funny and moving musical that brings the world of Shakespeare's England vividly alive.

Read Script Sample

sample script

"The Hunt for William Shakespeare was just the right length for the children to get to grips with! They could identify with the roles, making it a pleasure to learn and they really rose to the challenge of performing Shakespeare's own words too."

Year 5 and 6 teachers, St Mary's Primary

The Music

The Hunt for William Shakespeare contains opportunities for solos, great rousing chorus numbers and some lovely atmospheric underscore and scene change music. Stylistically the show ranges from Elizabethan pastiche through musical theatre to jazzy swing. Your children will love the fun and variety of the music as well as learning a bit of history along the way.

"The music scored very highly on the tingle-o-meter (!) - everyone who heard it loved it instantly."

Caroline Welsh, music teacher St Mary's Primary

"I thought that the music was really fun there was a range of all different types of music. I think that other schools would choose it because it's not like any other production!"

Eliza

Listen to Tracks recorded by the original cast

The Hunt For William Shakespeare

Lullaby

Moving the Theatre

Now Is My Time

"I liked how the music was bouncy!"

Sooie

View Sample Scores

Prologue

With a Hey and a Ho

Lullaby

Have You Worked It Out?

Now Is My Time

"The best bit was when we sang 'Have You Worked It Out?' and the final song 'Now Is My Time.' This was because they are brilliant songs."

Rachel

History of the Show

The Hunt for William Shakespeare is based on the original novel of the same name by BAFTA award-winning children's writer Roy Apps, with a score by Jenny Gould, resident composer with The Young Shakespeare Company. It was premiered at St. Mary's Primary School in Eltham, South London in July 2008, by 120 children from years 5 and 6, and a live band of 7 musicians.

"The music was really good and inspired the children to sing well."

"The whole experience was a joy."

Year 5 and 6 teachers, St Mary's Primary

"I hope we do one as good and fun next year."

Ellie

Read more comments from the original cast

"My favourite song was Moving The Theatre. It was fun and a bit scary and I can't wait for us to be doing next year's play."

Temeka

"I thought the play was exciting because it had five villains in it and five heroes in it. This made it unique. The music and lyrics were brilliant and funny at the same time."

Max

"It was fantastic!! I loved it!!"

Hollie

"It was one of the best things I'd ever done at school. I felt quite sad when it ended."

Dermot

Performance Packages available

Once you have decided you'd like to perform The Hunt for William Shakespeare at your school, drama club or youth theatre, the standard package we send out will comprise:

  • 1 piano/vocal score
  • 1 script
  • 1 teaching CD (all the songs, played on the piano and sung by the composer)

In addition to the standard package, we also have the following resources available:

Backing CD

for performance, if you prefer to perform with CD instead of piano accompaniment or orchestration.

Band Parts

the original scoring is available: Flute/piccolo, violin, clarinet/ sax/basset horn, tuba, drums, keyboard, guitar.

Alternative Orchestrations

we can re-orchestrate the show to suit your specific requirements, or arrange variations on the original scoring.

There will shortly be an online order form to fill in, but in the meantime, for further details, prices, alternative orchestrations and any other enquiries, please email either Jenny or Roy.

Contact

>Email Jenny
Email Roy

If you like Shakespeare…