This week’s voice coaching clarity homework, is a truly remarkable audio production of a favourite play.

Filled with lots of different voices with lots of different accents that are clear and beautifully annunciated, there are a variety of regional accents, all with excellent diction.

It’s a brave and wonderful project in four parts, staring the highly talented and much respected Tom Hollander as Geoff as an actor turned school play director and written by the clever Andy Mulligan. The script has been brilliantly directed by John Dryden with imagination, flair and wit.

The story is about a failing and rather chaotically run school, that has undergone a re-branding to into an Academy and now has to survive.

The headmaster played by Tony Gardiner, brings in, at the last minute or with 6 weeks to go, an old actor friend who is between jobs, to direct a play that has already been entered into a competition. Further more, the play, already chosen and submitted,  is the rather ambitious choice of Shakespeare’s, Romeo and Juliet.

This BBC4 Radio play, called School Drama, is in four parts, culminating in the production of the Deer Park Academy’s school production of Romeo and Juliet, first broadcast this Saturday – and it isutterly, utterly brilliant!

It is the best production of Romeo and Juliet I’ve ever experienced and I highly, highly recommend it to you.

Notice how the young students (actually from Portsmouth Grammar School) bring the 500 year old language to life, mostly, beautifully annunciated and the grown up actors are superb – great voices, great timing, excellent pace, precise diction and all in all, an absolute treat to listen to..

I’m going to give you the link to the first episode of School Drama here  because it is so good: funny, clever and very entertaining.

Then, if you become hooked like I did, you have two more episodes to enjoy before the big day of the performance of the school play…

About rebellion; romance: love; violence; passion and death..

Incase you want to skip straight to the stunning production of Will Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet like you’ve never heard it before –  you won’t be disapointed I promise you – I have given you the link below.

Please note – most of the young people’s diction is very good but very rarely, a few words are said too quickly so rushed together: it is as important you notice this whilst you also enjoy the 98% of excellent diction, because it’s a really important way of  bringing  your attention to the importance of technique whilst being emotional.

When you are emotional this is when you are testing yourself. For example, try talking about something you really care about, record yourself and see how good your clarity is.

If you can be upset, passionate, or angry or over excited and still speak clearly with great clarity you have truly mastered great diction!

Enjoy the play – it is a rare treat: click here : be prepared to be enthralled and absorb and take delight in, your voice coaching clarity homework… 🙂