Johannesburg

 

 SHAKESPEARE MONOLOGUE COMPETITION 
and
NATIONAL CHILDRENS THEATRE
SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

At the OUTDOOR IMAGINATION THEATRE AT NATIONAL CHILDREN’S THEATRE: 3 JUNCTION ROAD, PARKTOWN

Individuals are invited to present monologues.  Pairs are invited to present duologues.  Groups are invited to present scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. Sonnets, adaptations and/or musical renditions are also welcome. You may opt to enter the competitions or to present speeches or scenes just for fun.

Individuals and pairs are allowed 5 minutes.  Group scenes should be no longer than 10 minutes.

There will be three sections: Junior (up to Grade 7), Senior (Grade 8-12) and Adult.

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING IN THE SHAKESPEARE MONOLOGUE COMPETITION OR THE SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, PLEASE CONTACT DR ROHAN QUINCE AT rquince@global.co.za 

SACEE SHAKESPEARE MONOLOGUE COMPETITION 2025

The annual collaboration between the South African Council for English Education and National Children’s Theatre continued in 2025.  The preliminary rounds of the Shakespeare Monologue Competition and Festival took place at NCT on 12-14 May 2025, with the finals on 15 May.  On Saturday, 17 May, the Winners’ Showcase was presented to the public.

There were entries from King Edward VII School, Parktown Boys’ High, St Teresa’s School, the University of Pretoria, St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls, Sutherland High, Centennial School, Willowmoore High and NCT’s Shakespeare Club, as well as several private entries from as far afield as Polokwane!  Eventually thirty-three monologues, six duologues and thirteen scenes were entered in the junior, senior and adult sections over the week of the festival, taken from more than twenty plays and the sonnets.  Selections ranged from well-known plays like Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream to less popular plays like King Henry VI, Part 2 and Richard II.

The finals were adjudicated by Lise Gordon, who praised the performers for creating their magic on the stage and provided valuable feedback.

The winners were:

JUNIOR MONOLOGUE

Winner – Aliyah Dada as Hamlet in Hamlet

JUNIOR SCENE

Winner – Muhammad Wadee, Naeem Dada and Omar Gani in The Taming of the Shrew

SENIOR MONOLOGUE

Winner – King Edward VII – Kwezi Mlambo as Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona

Runner-Up – St Teresa’s School – Nasha Leago Mabote as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Runner-Up – Centennial – Sisanda Ndlovu as Brutus in Julius Caesar

SENIOR DUOLOGUE

Winner – St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls – Palesa Semousu and Stacey Muusha as Beatrice and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing

Runner-Up – St Dominic’s Catholic School for Girls – Kayleen Huang and Njaliwe Katemba as Romeo and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet

SENIOR SCENE

Winner – Parktown Boys’ High in Romeo and Juliet – Mercutio – Xolani Poto; Romeo – Nikiel Mahadeo; Benvolio – Suhail Bennett; Nurse – Zenande Dube; Peter – Karabo Kadiaka

Runner-Up – Sutherland High – Papa Don’t Preach – father/daughter dialogues from Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Hamlet – Mothelo Manthata, Lihle Ramahanelo, Mulisa Ntavhaedzi, Efele Mokhele, Snowee Myeni, Vhulenda Mphaphuli, Owami Ngwenya, Idani Dagada, Mufunwa Mulibana, Zimbili Radebe

ADULT MONOLOGUE

Winner – University of Pretoria’s Inklings – Joshua Wilensky as Angelo in Measure for Measure

Runner-Up – University of Pretoria’s Inklings – Simon Vogel as Othello in Othello

ADULT DUOLOGUE

Winner – University of Pretoria’s Inklings – Anieke Burger and Naledi Motea – The Merchant of Venice – Portia and Nerrissa discussing the suitors.

Winner – University of Pretoria’s Inklings – Zchané Zietsman and Clement Maxwell Cameron – The Taming of the Shrew – Kate and Petruchio – My tongue in your tail

ADULT SCENE

Winner – NCT’s Shakespeare Club – Othello – Josef Schultz as Roderigo, Reynard Vos as Iago, Joshua Wilensky as Brabantio

Winner – NCT’s Shakespeare Club – The Winter’s Tale – Reynard Vos as Autolycus, Joshua Wilensky as the Shepherd, Josef Schultz as the Shepherd’s Son

Runner-Up – University of Pretoria’s Inklings – The Merry Wives of Windsor – Latin Lesson Scene – Clement Maxwell Cameron, Zchané Zietsman, Natasha Holdsworth, Michael Solomon

Thank you to the South African Council for English Education and National Children’s Theatre for promoting Shakespeare!  Well done to all the talented performers and their dedicated teachers and parents for their support.

Creative Writing Competition 2024

SACEE (JHB) in association with King David High School Victory Park is proud to present the 2024 ANNUAL SACEE CREATIVE WRITING COMPETITION. This is a highly regarded, very successful competition, which has grown in leaps and bounds. We enthusiastically encourage the support and participation of any and all schools in South Africa and adjacent countries.  One of SACEE’s main aims is to develop the good use of English in both spoken and written forms.

To enter please download the entry form.

We would like to thank all schools who participated in the 2023 competition. 

Congratulations to the following 2023 award winners:For results of the 2022 Creative Writing Competition click here.

For more information about the SACEE/Gauteng Schools debating and entry form please click here.

The 2023 results and report can be viewed here.