The Pioneer School for the Blind’s drama group fared exceptionally well at the 12th Shakespeare Schools Festival.
The festival took place in Cape Town and the first leg of the festival ended on 14 May.
According to Derek Daly, the school’s drama teacher, the group received a standing ovation after their performance of Othello.
“This was our fourth time at the festival,” he said. “This is a really exciting festival, and it gives us the opportunity to perform on professional stages.”
Naturally the blind and visually impaired learners had some obstacles to overcome.
“We definitely have had unique challenges to overcome. We came up with the idea to lay mats on the stage to create a pathway for the children to find their marks, and we have different textured mats to make things easier for them. This gives them the opportunity to act with confidence. They would be lost without the mats, it is a really effective system.”
Learners make sure the mats are packed out exactly as they were while they were rehearsing.
“Should it be off just a little bit, it would create problems for the children while they are on stage.”
Daly said they chose to do Othello because they have covered all Shakespeare’s biggest plays. “We chose Othello as the theme of racism resonated with current issues in our country. We put our own twist on it by having a white Othello and casting a female as the villain. Having a female lead created possibilities where we could touch on the subjects of sexism and gender inequality. The cast definitely had fun with coming up with the different lines as needed.”
Anthony Gaitskill, a Grade 12 learner, fulfilled the lead role of Othello. It was his first time portraying a lead character.
“Since I was a little child I have always loved pretending. Doing drama after school is definitely an option.”
Jadha Abrahams, also in Grade 12, portrayed Iago.
Both Gaitskill and Abrahams are visually impaired while Danijela Johns and Sheldon Adams, are legally blind. And both agree that memorising the mats takes only 10 minutes.
“Some of the stages we perform on are big stages and the mats help us a lot to navigate our way,” said Adams.
