BRADFORD College students have drawn on a Shakespeare comedy to make a film about their lives in lockdown.

Nine students, who attend the college’s weekly Shakespeare Club, have been filming their version of a scene from The Taming of the Shrew as part of the RSC’s Playmaking Festival. Many of the students who attend the Shakespeare Club have English as a second language, and include members of Bradford’s migrant and refugee communities.

RSC director Justin Audibert has been working with the students on an original piece of work inspired by The Taming of the Shrew.

Their film, drawing on themes of solitude, isolation, family relationships, mental wellbeing, the healing power of nature, hope and redemption, will be premiered on the RSC’s YouTube channel from Wednesday.

Julia O’Keeffe, Bradford Theatres’ Learning Co-ordinator, said: “Justin was great at getting the students to explore the words and meanings to really understand the characters, so when they performed they were in touch with the meaning and feeling of the speech. He also helped them understand about interpreting a speech; there is never just one way of understanding but many layers.”

More than 100 students nationwide are involved with the annual Playmaking Festival as part of the RSC Associate Schools Programme, a partnership programme with regional theatres and schools serving areas of relatively high socio-economic deprivation.

Students taking part in previous years have performed at Stratford-upon-Avon, but due to the coronavirus pandemic and the cancellation of RSC performances, the Playmaking Festival, due to run from June 29 to July 14, is no longer going ahead as planned.

The RSC has produced an online festival supported by Samsung Electronics UK, Corporate Partner of the Associate Schools Programme, aimed at creating a significant change in the way young people experience, engage with and take ownership of the work of Shakespeare. Samsung has provided tablets to young people, distributed in consultation with the RSC Education team and the Alhambra, to Bradford College.

Students have used themes of The Taming of the Shrew to express their lockdown experiences. RSC Director of Education, Jacqui O’Hanlon said: “There is growing concern about the impact of Covid 19 on the mental wellbeing of young people. Theatre and arts have a vital role to play in the recovery of young people, communities and schools. We can’t currently bring young people together in the way we would normally, but we can provide an opportunity for them to come together in a virtual space to showcase their creativity and retain a connection with each other.

“Our Playmaking Festival celebrates the profound impact that partnerships between schools and theatres can have on the lives of students - partnerships forged out of a shared vision for education in which access to the arts plays a central part.”