During their recent Sydney-leg of their national tour, Team Romeo: Ari, Amos and Sophie, performed at The Hospital School at Westmead.
There were a dozen students in the room, with many more watching online. Despite the smaller-than-usual crowd, the audience was loud and enthusiastic with one student exclaiming "can you do the show again right now?!" as soon as the show finished.
There was also a sweet 5-year-old, dressed in Queen Titannia's fairy wings, who refused to leave the stage for the first 15 minutes of the performance. The Players were incredibly kind and adaptable and welcomed her as their 'fourth Player', time travelling together into The Wonderful World of Will.
Also in attendance were Debra and Ell from Bell Shakespeare, along with long-term Bell Shakespeare supporter, Dr Elisabeth Hodson, who worked as a paediatric nephrologist at Westmead before retiring in 2010. It was an incredibly special performance for all.
Anjum Newman, a teacher at The Hospital School, spoke to the Bell team after the performance, passing on their deepest thanks for this opportunity. She spoke about how kids from previous years continue to talk about their visits from The Players and how this performance and visits from Bell Shakespeare are so treasured.
Thank you to all who support Bell Shakespeare's Sharing Shakespeare fund, helping make opportunities like this possible.
'Team Romeo are amazing!
It was fantastic. The Players went above and beyond to ensure our students felt included - we had some attend via livestream, and one particular student who decided she was the 4th Player, and they all felt so welcome and happy to witness the incredible performance.
One student said that she now viewed Shakespeare in a different light and absolutely loved it. Another who is particularly disengaged at the moment was very complimentary of the performance.
I think you are all fantastic - thank you. I am particularly grateful to the donors who made this possible for our school.'
- Anjum Newman, Teacher, The Hospital School
