Berkeley Institute is to launch what may be the Island's first-ever youth Shakespeare festival after a group of its students travelled to London and performed the 'Taming of the Shrew' to a rapturous response. Sam Strangeways talked to the young performers for this story which originally ran in The Royal Gazette in March.

There were several firsts for the 13 young students from Berkeley Institute who travelled to London earlier this year to take part in what is believed to be the biggest youth drama festival in the world.

Most of them had never been to the UK, the majority had never touched snow and, without a doubt, none had ever before received a standing ovation for their performance, as the only non-British school in the festival, of a Shakespearean play on a West End stage.

It's fair to say the trip ¿ from January 29 to February 10 ¿ changed the lives of some of those young performers, and not just because they got to throw snowballs at their principal Michelle Simmons and drama teacher Josephine Kattan.

Several are now seriously considering going to university in the UK and some are talking of studying performing arts at a higher level. Even better, perhaps, is the fact that other youngsters on the Island are going to benefit because of their experience.

Berkeley Institute is now planning to hold its own Shakespeare festival ¿ part of the international Shakespeare 24 event ¿ in April, 2008 and will be inviting other schools in Bermuda to take part.

The students from Ms Kattan's class ¿ a tight-knit, lively bunch from Senior Four who studied together for their GCSE drama and are now working towards their Bermuda School Certificate ¿ are a pleasure to interview: bright, articulate, funny and brimming with enthusiasm about their trip.

Michiko Campbell, 17, from Pembroke, describes the morning it snowed in London, the teenagers having stayed up for much of the previous night waiting for the first drops to fall.

"I saw snow for the first time,'' he laughed. "It was really nice. We went crazy. I was throwing snowballs at principal Mrs. Simmons and she was throwing them back. We even made a snowman outside the Millfield Theatre. It was cold, really cold, but I was really excited.''

The snowball fight was a break from the relentless rehearsals that the students put in for their two evening performances of the 'Taming of the Shrew' at the Millfield and the Shaw Theatre. Schools taking part in the festival were asked to prepare 30-minute abridged versions of Shakespeare plays and Berkeley's version of the Shrew, according to the youngsters and their teachers, went down a storm.

"Going out there was a great experience especially since we were the only international school,'' said Joann Nichols, 17, from Smith's. "It was great to get Bermuda known a bit. At first I was a bit scared, but the whole experience of performing was very exciting because we got a lot of applause. Bermudians (living in London) also came to see us.''

Jonathan Shabazz, 17, from Pembroke, said: "We got a great response. We had standing ovations. After the performance people were coming up to us and personally congratulating us.''

The youngsters' unique non-British status at the festival made them objects of much attention from other schoolchildren taking part.

Zico Mello, 17, from St. David's, said: "The British kids were really friendly. I didn't expect them to associate with us as much. They were having so much conversation because they heard our accents and they had so many questions about Bermuda.

"They were asking do we wear grass skirts! I guess they didn't know much about Bermuda before.''

Jakila Maybury, 17, from Warwick, said: "We felt very special because every time we ended a play at the end we had to come together and talk about how we performed and they always said 'Bermuda, Bermuda¿. Everything was Bermuda'.''

The Berkeley students' performances garnered praise from the organisers of the Shakespeare Schools Festival. Eddie Latter, venue director at the Millfield Theatre in Edmonton, described the troupe as "stylish and classy''. Actor Crispin Bonham Carter, who watched them act at the Shaw, praised their passion, good timing, audience connection and the way they used their bodies.

The cultural trip included a visit to Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon.

"It was real beautiful,'' said Zico. "It's the best place I ever visited.''

Ms Kattan, who used to teach in London, said the youngsters' performance on stage ¿ and throughout the visit ¿ was excellent.

"This lot worked so hard and they wanted to see so much,'' she said. "Students from other schools came up to us and told me and the students: 'our teachers told us to watch you very closely to see how it's done'. You should have seen my lot; they were so proud."

Mrs. Simmons said: "I thought that the students performed extremely well on stage, exuding much confidence as a result of the hours of work and preparation. Throughout the week, they were extremely well-behaved and cooperative.

"I highly commend them for the way in which they represented themselves, their families, the Berkeley Institute and Bermuda.''

As for the youngsters, they loved London and feel the trip added to their understanding and enjoyment of Shakespeare. Their only complaint? British food.

"I think London is nice except for the food,'' said Aleisha James, 17, of Warwick. "They need to put some spice in there.''