Youngsters rewrite Bard's lines

A mosaic poster of Shakespeare is being used for publicity

Lines from Shakespeare have been rewritten by school children and displayed on buses to advertise a youth drama festival in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The rewording is on posters promoting the Mini Complete Works of Shakespeare Festival taking place in June and July.

"All that glisters is not gold" becomes "You don't have to be showy to shine" in a reinterpretation by seven-year-olds from a Nuneaton school.

The festival is one of the biggest in the UK with 1,000 children taking part.

In another reworking, five-year-old children at Telford Infant School in Leamington Spa turned "The smallest worm will turn, being trodden on" from Henry VI, Part Three, to "Don't be bossy! - you might regret it one day".

'Unleashing creativity'

Children at St Marie's Catholic Junior School in Rugby came up with "Going to work with friends is as good as a holiday" from lines in Henry IV, Part One - "If all the year were playing holidays, To sport would be as tedious as to work".

During the festival, children aged five and upwards from 70 schools across Warwickshire will be performing scenes from Shakespeare in The Dell, the RSC's new open air theatre next to the River Avon.

Sue Mitchell, a teacher at Telford Infant School, said: "It has been a fantastic experience with staff and children getting to know the play together, unleashing a lot of creativity."