50 Anniversary of the All Island Inter-School Shakespeare Drama Competition

Given a prepublication copy of the celebratory compilation of facts and essays covering the existence of this admirable competition and the committees and persons behind its success, a favourite quotation of Shakespeare’s from one of his sonnets came to mind and stayed there.

- By NAN

The dedication of the people concerned down the years since 1973 when the competition was started, has in large measure contributed to the preservation of the Bard’s word and admiration of the greatest writer in English of all time, in this island of ours.

Sonnet LX starts somberly:

“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore

So too our minutes hasten to their end.

And yet, to times in hope, my verse shall stand,

Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand”

A couple more sonnets has Shakespeare expressing this idea of the immortality of his written word, in the final two of the 14 lines. There lies the crux of the matter. The event celebrating 50 years has done just that: Shakespeare’s ‘Verse shall stand.’

The Committees that organized and held the annual Shakespeare Drama Competition through good times and bad; peaceful and chaotic; when English was denigrated from a much used third language and when it was banned by the Sinhala Only damaging decree; deserves unreserved thanks and praise. Shakespeare became a living entity with more and more schools participating from the major city schools in the mid-1970s to others in lesser towns. It truly is all Island now. And due to whom? Committees, judges, sponsors, teachers of participating schools and children, both onstage and back stage.