What You Will is an exciting competition, open to young people aged between 8 and 25 years old. We would like to invite you to join us in celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s First Folio by creating a new speech for a character in a Shakespeare play. Who do you think needs their voice heard? Who do you find intriguing? Who has unfinished business that Shakespeare didn’t write?

William Shakespeare wrote plays in the 16th and 17th centuries. Whilst his words are more than four hundred years old, his stories continue to be told on stages and in classrooms, on screens and in books across the world. He is the world’s most performed playwright.

Shakespeare’s work says something about the human condition that keeps us coming back for more. Shakespeare’s stories are for everyone, and through What You Will we want you to get the chance to create a new chapter for these stories

Published seven years after Shakespeare’s death, the First Folio is a book which contains a selection of 36 of Shakespeare’s plays. In fact, it was the first time many of his plays were published.

The year 2023 marks 400 years since the publication of Shakespeare’s First Folio. Without the First Folio, over half of Shakespeare’s plays would have been lost, and we wouldn’t have As You Like It or Antony and Cleopatra, Malvolio or Macbeth, and there’d be no ‘the Ides of March’ nor ‘the isle is full of noises’.

Yes, it does. However, we’d like you to think creatively about who or what your character is. It could be for a major character, a character that speaks less, or even one who doesn't speak at all. It may not even be a human character – what does the heath in Macbeth have to say? What about the animals that live on Prospero’s island in The Tempest?

Unfortunately we can only accept entries from young people residing in the United Kingdom. However, if you live outside of the UK, you are welcome to use our resources to create a speech in the style of the competition. If you do, why not share by tagging us on our social media channels?

‘Speech’ doesn’t have to mean written, spoken or even word-based – we want you to choose how your character communicates. It could be a song or piece of art. It could be with movement or an Instagram reel. What medium do you find interesting? And how do you think that your character would share their feelings and thoughts with the world? Let your creativity go wild!

If you are using text or words, we ask that you create your speech in any of the following languages: English, Cymraeg, Gàidhlig, Gaeilge or British Sign Language.

If you have created a speech in a second language, please do let us know when you fill in your submission form by answering ‘yes’ to the appropriate question.

We’ll be taking five things into account when judging your speech. They are:

1. Creativity - We want you to be playful when creating your speech. Don’t be afraid of putting your stamp on Shakespeare and explore what’s possible and meaningful to you. (Shakespeare’s plays tell stories about humans, so we can all relate to them – but at CSSF, we use Shakespeare, we don’t serve him)

2. Characterisation - How you bring life to the character and show their personality (whether it’s a well-known character or one who doesn’t speak in Shakespeare’s original plays, we want to get to know them through your speech)

3. Sense of voice - How do you make the speech uniquely yours? (Take ownership of the speech – we want this speech to be one which could only be written by you).

4. Character Arc - We want to see the character go on a journey during the speech. (What happens to them? How do they change from the beginning to the end of the speech?)

5. Engagement of the audience - We want the audience to be hooked to your speech from start to finish. How are you going to capture their attention? (Make sure the audience listens to what your speech says, whether it’s a message they like, agree with or find challenging).

If you are submitting a written speech, if can be no longer than 300 words in length. If you are creating a speech as a video or an audio file, it must be no longer than 120 seconds in length. There’s no minimum length of time for your speech.

You must submit your speech via the What You Will submission form which you can find here. You (or, if you’re under 18 years old, a parent, guardian or teacher) will need to fill in some information about yourself and your speech, as well as uploading it.

We can accept speeches in the following file formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, csv, txt, rtf, html, zip, mp3, wma, mpg, flv, avi, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, mp4, mpeg4, mov

If you’re having difficulties submitting your speech, or if your file size is over 1GB, then please email hello@coramshakespeareschools.org.uk so that we can arrange to receive your submission in another way.

We can accept speeches in the following file formats: pdf, doc, docx, xls, xlsx, csv, txt, rtf, html, zip, mp3, wma, mpg, flv, avi, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, mp4, mpeg4, mov

If you’re having difficulties submitting your speech, or if your file size is over 1GB, then please email hello@coramshakespeareschools.org.uk so that we can arrange to receive your submission in another way.

You will own the copyright of your speech but you will be giving CSSF the right to publish, broadcast and post your entry online (across all media) as well as giving CSSF the right to edit or adapt the content at our discretion and without your approval. By entering the competition you agree to all of our Terms & Conditions. We suggest that you (or an adult, if you’re under 18 years old) read these in detail before submitting your entry.

There will be two rounds of judging.

During the first round, staff and supporters of CSSF will shortlist entries. Everyone who is a shortlister will receive a selection of anonymised entries to score using our judging criteria. Each competition entry will be judged by two shortlisters. The highest scoring submissions from each age category will be put through to the next round.

During the second round, the top 24 entries will be judged by a guest panel, including professional actors, authors, presenters and poets, creative professionals and members of CSSF’s Youth Panel. There will be one third place, one second place and one winner for each age category.

Our judging panel will include professional actors, authors, presenters and poets, creative professionals and members of CSSF’s Youth Panel. The judges will be finalised nearer the date but will not be CSSF staff.

The top three speeches in each age category will be shared/performed at the What You Will Celebration Gala at the Criterion Theatre in Picadilly Circus, London on the evening of 27 November 2023 (a total of 12 speeches). All 24 shortlisted entries will be invited to attend the Gala. Additional prizes will include, but not be limited to:

24 shortlisted entries will receive a £10 National Book Token voucher.

Third place in each category will receive a What You Will trophy and a £25 Love-to-Shop voucher.

Second place in each category will receive a What You Will trophy and £50 Love-to-Shop voucher.

Winners in each category will receive What You Will trophy and £100 Love-to-Shop voucher.

Further prizes and awards may be announced during the competition.

CSSF will be in touch with the top 24 shortlisted entries in September to tell you the good news. You will own the copyright of your speech but you will be giving CSSF the right to publish, broadcast and post your entry online (across all media) as well as giving CSSF the right to edit or adapt the content at our discretion and without your approval. We may share your speech on social media platforms, on CSSF’s website, on our partner websites and of course, onstage at our What You Will gala event at The Criterion Theatres in London.