Theatre: Shakespeare 4 Kidz

Shakespeare 4 Kidz have toured all over the world and schools in every English-speaking country have performed their plays. But most impressively of all, they're making Shakespeare relevant to young people again. Katie Archer talks to founder and writer Julian Chenery

We may be heading for recession but one man who knows financial crisis can have a silver lining is Julian Chenery.

The former City stocks trader was made redundant a total of three times in the space of 18 months during the late 80s.

"The third time I lost my job was on December 6, 1989.

"I was on the train to work, reading the paper, and I saw that my company was closing down. That's how I heard about it.

"I had a young family, I was in the situation again where someone else was deciding my future, and I just thought, 'I can't do this anymore'.

"That was when I decided that if I lost my job again it was going to be my fault, not someone else's."

Julian, from Croydon, adjusted to a life at home in Oxted looking after his children while his wife Carolyn continued to work as an air hostess for BA.

He realised a change of career had to mean something he loved, and that narrowed it down to either sport or theatre.

"I was never going to become a professional sportsman, so theatre it was."

Julian wrote his first kids play with friend Matt Gimblett, who is the co-founder and co-writer of Shakespeare 4 Kidz, when his drama-teacher wife complained about the lack of interesting plays available to schools.

At the time of the 50 year celebrations for the end of World War II, they penned a play about two wartime families evacuated from Croydon to the countryside, called What Did You Do In The War Grandad? for Woodley School in Warlingham.

With an enthusiastic reception, Julian decided to carry on writing for schools and looking for something still in an educational vein, he hit on Shakespeare.

"Nearly everyone told me it couldn't be done, and that's what triggered me off.

"At that time Shakespeare was mainly taught very badly, and only in secondary schools.

"He's supposed to be one of our national icons but probably 95 per cent of people in Croydon High Street couldn't tell you the plot of Hamlet.

"I wanted to change the way people found out about the plays, so if children could get to grips with the plot in primary school, when their vocabulary matured there would be no other barriers to their understanding of it."

The first Shakespeare 4 Kidz Julian wrote for a school cast was A Midsummer Night's Dream which sold out three shows in a small Croydon venue and 2,000 people came to see it.

The Shakespeare 4 Kidz versions of the classics are now famous for using easy-to-understand language peppered with original quotes, and livening things up with catchy songs.

It was about a year later that Julian had the next idea to develop his company, while at a West End production of Oliver!.

"There were lots of school parties who said they'd come to see the show because they were performing it that year.

"I realised we could do the same thing with Shakespeare 4 Kidz and so we set up the touring arm of the company."

As well as the school play packs and professional tours, Shakespeare 4 Kidz also produce DVDs and are branching out into filming the plays in Dubai at the moment.

They've performed all over the world and their scripts have been used in every English speaking country, but surprisingly Julian says they often get the best reactions in countries that don't speak English.

"The vocabulary is at the level of a 10 year old which makes it easier for other countries to understand, and they don't have any preconceptions of what Shakespeare should be like."

The company's repertoire and play packs to date include A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest and Hamlet.

Without wanting to name favourites, they say A Midsummer Night's Dream is their flagship production because it was the first and it is so funny to perform.

Some of the plays have presented more difficulties than others but Julian says Hamlet, which was their biggest challenge, has also been their biggest success.

"I wouldn't rule out any of the titles, but it makes sense for us to concentrate on the top 10 plays first.

"Othello is definitely on the list for us to do soon."

Now Julian and wife Carolyn, now the company producer, are looking forward to coming back to their home town with performances of Romeo and Juliet at the Ashcroft Theatre.

"The great thing about coming to Croydon for me is that I'm from East Croydon, my wife is from Shirley and we live in Oxted now.

"The Ashcroft is our home theatre so we always have a special reception there – we get a fantastic audience response and it's always a really special atmosphere."

Julian's four children ("you can guess who my son Will is called after") have also developed a love of theatre through their dad's work.

This is something he's very pleased about as it embodies the aims behind Shakespeare 4 Kidz.

"I want to show young people that theatre is fantastic and really exciting.

"At our shows it's the first time many of the kids in the audience will ever have been to the theatre.

"It's not easy to forget the first time you go to the theatre so there's a real responsibility for us not to mess it up.

"We want kids to see that alongside playing video games and going out with their mates, culture is open for them to tap into as well.

"When they see the magical chemistry between the stage and the audience and then you see them utterly absorbed in what's happening, it's very special."

Shakespeare 4 Kidz' Romeo and Juliet is at the Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon on Thursday, November 20 at 1.30pm and 7.30pm, and Friday, November 21 at 10am and 1.30pm.

Tickets from £9, call 020 86889291.