More Than a Play: A Shakespeare Education in 5 Days
The bang of a drum, a clear voice ringing out, a mesmerising dance—that was how the world premiere of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' started. These were the first moments of a play that did not exist five days earlier and the debut of a cast who were unfamiliar with another just one week before. That is the wonder of the 10th Worldwise Shakespeare Festival. The event was co-hosted at two Dulwich campuses in Suzhou, the birthplace of this decade-long global tradition. This year, the festival returned to where it all began: Dulwich International High School Programme Suzhou (DHSZ), where the story first started in 2016.
This anniversary edition celebrates ten years of collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, whose practitioners travel to our schools to help participants grasp the essence of Shakespeare and reach new artistic heights.
Building a Dream in Five Days
Rewinding to just a few days, on Monday, about 160 young actors from Dulwich College International and Dehong International Chinese School arrived in Suzhou and met their future friends and RSC practitioners. They came from Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, Singapore, Seoul and Suzhou itself, ready to begin their extraordinary creative journey.
Robin Belfield, the Creative Director of the 2025 Worldwise Shakespeare Festival, explains how the Festival is set up: 'We have a team of six RSC practitioners, who each mentor a group of students to perform one section from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The groups have participants from all the schools mixed together. Over the five days they work with their RSC director to craft their scene, their characters and tell their story in that little section. At the end of the rehearsal period, we weave all those sections into a single, ambitious production.'
The special anniversary festival also brought a lot of pride and joy to the two hosting schools: Dulwich College Suzhou and Dulwich International High School Programme Suzhou, the school that founded the first festival ten years ago.
'It is just an amazing feeling to be hosting this milestone festival, especially in this new format,' said Ben Wills, the Head of Arts and Drama at Dulwich College Suzhou. 'I have been involved in a few Worldwise Shakespeare Festivals. It's been really heartwarming to watch the students make new friends and come together to put on such an amazing performance.'
A Journey into the Wonderland of Theatre
Any initial uncertainty the budding actors might have felt was quickly transformed into a passionate drive as they discovered the event far surpassed their expectations.
'I thought that we would just do a lot of classes, but we have got to really know the process of creating a performance.' ——Rosie, Dulwich College Beijing Student
'When I arrived, I thought that we would just do a lot of classes and workshops,' said Rosie from Dulwich College Beijing. 'But actually it has been a lot more than that. We have got to really know the process of staging a performance. Like seeing how dedicated each of the art students was in creating the costumes.'
On stage, the audience witnessed a whirlwind of emotion and comedy. The bewitched lovers, Helena and Demetrius, argued with raw passion, fairies fluttered through the shadows causing magical mischief and the Mechanicals hilariously got in over their heads. All was framed by a fabulous stage conceived and constructed by Dulwich's own art students.
A Legacy of Friendship and Growth
This edition celebrates the decade that Dulwich College International and the Royal Shakespeare Company have worked together to help students blossom through the beauty of theatre.
'Having been with the Worldwise Shakespeare Festival since 2018, it has been really exciting seeing the development of the students,' said Oliver 'Oli' Lynes, an actor, director and Associate Practitioner at RSC. 'What stands out to me is the confidence with Shakespeare's text the students have cultivated. Just speaking this Shakespearean language can be sort of knotty and challenging when you first read it, but over the years of our long partnership, I have definitely seen them mature.'
'l went into the script so deeply, I forgot I was in the real world.'——Jason, Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi student
That confidence and development translated directly onto the stage, exemplified by the standout performance of Jason L, from Dulwich College Shanghai Puxi. His RSC practitione, Joseph Arkley, called him 'a brilliant actor'. Arkley noted that by channeling his love for Michael Jackson, Jason discovered that 'he could bridge his own ideas and cultural references and put that into his performance.'
Jason described his experience as 'absolutely fantastic', mentioning how he really liked learning how to work with friends in a huge play and how to make his voice heard on stage.
'Last time at the theatre, I went into the script so deeply that I forgot that I was in the real world and I felt like I was the main character of the story,' he reflected.
To demonstrate this profound connection with theatre, the Shakespeare actors performed for the students on Friday. They reminded everyone that they are masterful professional actors, not just great teachers, showing how easily anyone can be transported into the wonderful world of a play.
'When We Let Go, They Grow'
As the curtains fell, the young cast took to the stage for their final bows under thunderous applause, but the real tribute came when they turned to their RSC practitioners. In a powerful, spontaneous moment, their applause for their mentors swelled into roaring chanting and cheering. In a final act of gratitude, the art students were honoured with flowers on stage, for their dedicated work realising the production.
It was a moment to reflect on what our students had achieved: coming together, working together and performing a play together, all in just under a week. The RSC practitioners noted that the students themselves came up with most of the ideas and brought this play to life.
The proud Head of Drama at Dulwich College Seoul, Matthew Readman, contemplated: 'Both as a parent and a teacher, you want to get to the point where you know it is the right time to let go. To let them step forward themselves and go beyond your expectations. That is education's richest moment.'
To Ten More Years and Beyond
The final performance was a vibrant portrait of the very confidence, creativity and collaboration the Worldwise Shakespeare Festival inspires. This truly international endeavour, driven by students, teachers and staff from across the Dulwich and Dehong schools, points to a confident future. As Alex Tew, Head of Drama at Dulwich College Beijing, noted, 'It is precisely because our school community places such emphasis on the performing arts that we understand what it takes to create these long-term festivals. Our students arrive with a foundational love for performance, which allows them to soar long after the final curtain falls.'
We leave you with a word from Edgar Zillmann, our Group Head of Events and Educational Partnerships:
'I have had the privilege of witnessing the growth of our partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company from its very first year into something truly remarkable, engaging thousands of students, teachers and parents across our global family of schools. Over the past decade, we have seen Shakespeare's stories come alive in classrooms, on stages, helping our students to build confidence, to develop their creativity, their ability to collaborate and to get a better understanding of themselves and the world around them. This partnership with the Royal Shakespeare Company truly embodies our mission to help every student to Live Worldwise and I eagerly await where the next ten years will take us.'
Join our Dulwich College International family, where we provide the stage, both literal and metaphorical, for students to discover their voice, build confidence and learn to live Worldwise.
