By Izyan Nazihah
GOMBAK, 15 June 2023: The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare was performed at the Human Sciences (HS) Courtyard of IIUM Gombak, featuring four groups from two sections of the course ENGL 2210: Shakespeare in His Age and in Modern Context.
The performances of Shakespeare’s works were done for three consecutive days, from June 14th, 2023, to June 16th, 2023, with each day focusing on different plays: Macbeth, The Merchant of Venice, and King Lear, respectively.
In addition, the performances were part of the students’ assessments and were graded by the lecturers of the course, Dr. Tanja Jonid and Madam Akmal.
The groups took turns performing The Merchant of Venice, and each group displayed uniqueness and differences in their performances and ideas. The performances started at around 5:30 p.m., and the HS Courtyard was filled with students, mainly the ones who take the ENGL 2210 course. There were also some students who came as supporters for their friends, which made the day more fun and happening.
“We need to do this because it is part of the tradition to perform Shakespeare. With Shakespeare, you cannot just read it on the page; you actually have to perform it. Students get a better idea about the play when they actually have to perform it,” commented Dr. Tanja Jonid on the importance of having live Shakespeare performances by the students. She also complimented the performances for this semester and acknowledged them as an improvement from previous ones.
"I felt great as I got out of my comfort zone and acted in front of many people. It felt especially nice when I used Shakespearean English," said Badrina, one of the performers, when asked how she felt performing the play.
The performances ended at around 8:00 p.m. and the students took some pictures together afterward to keep them as memories before they dispersed. ***
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