Year 10 pupils from Portsmouth High School will be performing Henry V at the Minerva Theatre Chichester on Tuesday 21 October as part of the Shakespeare Schools Festival.

The cast of 21 girls have been rehearsing for the performance since September, this is the 4th year in a row the Southsea Independent school has taken part in the Festival.

Three other schools will be performing on Tuesday evening and the cast will not know until teatime tomorrow in what order they will perform. The audience will be in for a treat as the programme will include a Comedy a Tragedy and a History. The 30 minute version of Henry V has been especially adapted for the festival by Arnold Wesker.

Lauren Farnhill, Drama Teacher said “This is an ensemble cast of 21 girls trying to depict the bloodiest of confrontations. We have achieved this through simple costumes and colour to denote the two factions. This is a physical performance and an ensemble piece where all members of the cast are on the stage at all times.”

Interestingly Lauren’s daughter Katie, herself a former Portsmouth High School pupil (1986-1999) will also be directing a play tomorrow evening. Katie is now teaching English and Drama at St. Edmund's School in Portsmouth, and she is taking a cast to perform "Romeo and Juliet".