By Cooper StevensonStudents from six of the Bermuda’s private and public high schools will be performing abridged versions of William Shakespeare’s masterpieces beginning this week.For the sixth year running, the Bermuda Shakespeare Schools Festival is giving 150 local students aged 14-18 a chance to try their hand in the dramatic arts by performing some of the bard’s most recognisable plays.Each performance lasts around 30 to 45 minutes with two schools performing each night at the Berkeley Institute, beginning at 7pm.Between today through Wednesday, the festival — which complements the GCSE programme — “focuses on youth, culture and creativity, and encourages further study in the dramatic arts by providing students with a professional setting in which to perform”, a spokesperson said.“Such is the calibre of performance this year The Ministry of Education asked BSSF to coordinate a drama group to perform in the Caribbean Secondary Schools Drama Festival to be held in Barbados from December 8 to 15”.In Barbados, a cast representing students from Bermuda’s high schools will perform Kim Dismont Robinson’s play, “Emancipation: A Love Story’” a docudrama about Bermuda’s history, directed by Alan Smith.The participating schools and their selected plays are:Today:Saltus Grammar School — “Much Ado About Nothing”CedarBridge Academy — “Julius Caesar”Tomorrow:The Bermuda High School — “Cymbeline”The Berkeley Institute — “Othello”Wednesday:Somersfield Academy — “Romeo and Juliet”Warwick Academy — “Hamlet”Tickets are $15 and available for purchase at www.ptix.bm.For more information visit the Bermuda Shakespeare Schools Festival Facebook page.