‘For never was a story of more woe, Than this of Juliet and her Romeo’

“English Day” arranged by St Mary’s High School to keep alive a tradition that began in 1957.

PESHAWAR: With the recent terrorist attacks across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, people, especially those around the provincial capital, seem to be starving for a moment of relief.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, the students of St Mary’s High School provided just that, with a stunning performance of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.

“English Day” was arranged by the school administration to keep alive a tradition that began in 1957.

Teenage students garbed in immaculate Elizabethan attire kept the audience enthralled for the duration of the performance. Surprisingly, for many of them, it was their first time performing live.

The quality of the performance can be judged by the awe-struck applause following one of the climactic moments of the play, as, with light music in the background, Romeo poisons himself, believing that his beloved Juliet is no more.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Basit Ali, a student who performed on stage, said, “I tried to do my best and entertain the audience. I am not only happy with my performance but also the immeasurable confidence it gives me. It really helps you face people when you perform in front of such a huge gathering live on stage.” He then ran off to go see his parents.

The school administration was of the view that performing plays, especially those by Shakespeare, is a good way to encourage students to show an interest in literature.

“Learning and familiarity with the English language is the need of the day, this is the 21st century and people should motivate their children to learn English and be competitive in the modern world,” said Abdul Rehman Asif, a teacher at the school.

School Principal Devasiri Fernando said, “This will keep traditions alive and encourage students to follow literature and learn more about a story written in the sixteenth century.”

As the program ended, the cast and crew were awarded shields and certificates for their performances.

Like young Basit, with their shields and certificates in hand, most of them ran off towards their parents. “How did we perform on stage?” many of them asked. “Wonderfully,” was the reply all around.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 13^th, 2011.