‘ I have been studying how I may compare This prison where I live unto the world .’
William Shakespeare , Richard II
Congratulations to Marcel Steinbauer-Lewis who won the English Speaking Union ’ s national Performing Shakespeare legacy competition .
Two years ago , I had the crazy idea of entering the English Speaking Union ’ s Performing Shakespeare Competition . I knew nothing much about acting , but I loved Shakespeare . I chose a monologue from Hamlet ( Act 2 , Scene 2 ). As I went over it again and again , thinking about it and feeling my way into the character , suddenly something ‘ clicked ’. Hamlet suited me like a glove , and , unbelievably , I made it into the national final of the competition . Last year , I entered the same competition once again , this time with a monologue from Richard II ( Act 5 , Scene 5 ). I made it through the first round , but then Covid-19 hit , and the regional finals never happened .
Luckily , this year , the organisers arranged for a ‘ legacy round ’, so that we could all reapply . I was asked to submit a video for the first round . I did my best to film it but , though I was happy with my performance , it had a definite homemade quality . I was portraying Richard , abandoned and on the verge of madness in his isolation in the dungeon . Just as I was saying the line ‘… and here is not a creature but myself ’, my little dog , my only audience , stretched on the sofa so that her head briefly appeared on camera . It doesn ’ t seem to have mattered , since the same video got me not only through the first round but also the regional final .
The final took place on Zoom . I couldn ’ t believe my ears when the list of judges , all industry or academic experts , was announced . One of them was one of my personal heroes , Professor Emma Smith from Oxford , whose books on Shakespeare I enjoyed so much . There were 16 finalists from all over the country . The technical quality of the video feeds varied greatly . One unfortunate candidate , whose performance looked like it was of high quality , was totally inaudible . Mr Grant and Mr Niklas from the Drama department were there to support me , and I enjoyed performing in a Drama classroom .
Winning the competition was fantastic but I gained so much more than that . Richard II , like Hamlet , was a perfect character for me , and I feel that I have matured as an actor with the challenge and the subtleties of that part .
Marcel Steinbauer-Lewis , Year 10
46 DRAMA REVIEW