Quill Pens at the Ready for RSC’s Poetry Competition

The new RSC production of As You Like It may already have opened, but there is still a chance for members of the public to contribute a little something to designer Tom Piper’s set.

Michael Boyd, RSC Artistic Director and director of the production said: “Can you write better love poems than Orlando?  He plasters his lyrics all over The Courtyard Theatre in our production, and we would like to invite you to help him out with some words of your own.”

The winning entries will be chosen by a judging panel consisting of members of the As You Like It creative team, with the winning poems being written out by hand by the RSC’s props department to feature in the set. The selected poems will also appear in a video on the RSC’s website, being performed by Jonjo O’Neill, who plays Orlando in the production. Each winner will also be offered two tickets to see a future production at the RSC and an As You Like It programme, signed by the director and members of the cast.

Submitted poems must be no more than 14 lines long, and include a maximum of 140 words.  There are five categories in the competition: age groups 12-16, 17-30, 31-45 and 46 and over.  The final category is for anyone aged 18 or over who wants to send an entry using Twitter, meaning that the poem can be no more than 140 characters long.

The closing date for all entries is Monday 22nd June 2009. More information on the competition, on As You Like It and other RSC productions in Stratford and further afield can be found on the RSC website.

– Philip Holyman