Where It All Began
- benjaminmolalign
- Apr 1
- 7 min read
My first memory of encountering Shakespeare was when I was a small boy, and my mum had bought me these simplified children's versions of Shakespeare's plays, including Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and The Tempest. They were cute, and I remember enjoying the drama of it all and how weird they were, especially the Tempest. The stories drew me in, and because they were written in modern English, I could actually understand what was going on.
My next encounter was in Year 8 drama, when we began studying Macbeth. I don't actually remember what we were meant to be doing, but we had to use iPads to film and edit some of the scenes from Macbeth. It was all part of our school's objective to make us technologically savvy. We were put into small groups, and our idea was that the events of Macbeth all took place in an aeroplane, mid-flight. Potentially an adaptation too ahead of its time.
After that, way back in 2019, I participated in the 'Shakespeare Schools Festival'. At the ripe age of 14, I played a 1/5ᵗʰ of an Ariel in The Tempest, at the Kenton Theatre in Henley. I was painted blue, given a neon blue bob, and dressed in ripped/tie-dye clothes that I can only assume were fashionable at the time. It was here that my love for theatre (and fluctuating relationship with Shakespeare) manifested. It was my first-ever stage performance and, simultaneously, one of the first Shakespeare texts I explored. The adrenaline of performing for a live audience surged through my body, and I cherished the opportunity to play such a dynamic character. Here, my short-lived passion for Shakespeare began.
"I hate Shakespeare" - Benjamin Molalign (2019)
Like many other UK secondary school students, I discovered more of Shakespeare's works through English Literature classes. Much Ado about Nothing and Romeo and Juliet were the plays my school chose to teach. The way schools teach Shakespeare seems to drain all the beauty out of his work. I found the texts droll and could not grasp why we were studying the language and choices of some guy who lived ages ago. I got incredibly frustrated with it, and with Shakespeare himself, cursing him (with fist in the air) for writing "stupid, pointless plays". I renounced my love for him with a firm "I hate Shakespeare". My passion ended here.
Post COVID Discoveries & My break from Shakespeare.
Years passed, COVID hit, and as society slowly reintegrated, I started to form plans for my future. It was only during lockdown that I learned you could train at a drama school to become a professional actor. I don't know how I was planning to become an actor, but this felt like an accessible route that would launch my Oscar-winning career. I thought it would be as easy as three simple steps.
1. Get into Drama School: During lockdown, my mum sent me a podcast about RADA, and from that moment, I had my heart set on the school. Over the years, I discovered more drama schools and started to realise most of the people I was watching on TV and in films had trained at a drama school. It made sense to me that this was the next step.
2. Book a Hollywood Film: I thought that once I had graduated from drama school, I would be whisked to Los Angeles to book a massive blockbuster movie and become an international success.
3. Retire Early: I reckoned the working lifestyle wasn't for me, and therefore I would need to make my money early to secure an easy lifestyle for my older years. At the time, I planned to retire by 35.
So, obviously, this plan proved to be impractical and highly ambitious, but my 16-year-old brain made a point of seeing it through to success. I just didn't know how. I auditioned for drama school for the first time when I was 18 and didn't get very far, which led me down the university route. When results day rolled around, I ended up with an offer to study Politics and International Relations at the University of Surrey, with the hopes of keeping my acting dreams alive.
The university was affiliated with the acting school GSA, which I didn't apply to due to UCAS logistics. However, I thought there would still be an integrated culture where I could make friends and potentially participate in extracurricular projects with some students. I was very wrong. The GSA students lived in a completely different world from the University, and chances to meet them were narrowed down to bump-ins at the club.
However, I was very lucky to live in the same accommodation as a GSA foundation student, with whom I quickly became close friends, who inspired me with their schedule, and who became my muse. She is the catalyst to the pursuit of my acting dreams and will be forever grateful to her. Big shoutout to Amelie! She introduced me to the play Measure for Measure, which she was studying for a scene analysis. I only ran lines with her for the scene, but little did I know that it would have a bigger impact on my life.
The Turning Point
When January rolled around, it was time to reunite with UCAS and apply for drama schools. I fared considerably better, getting a second-round recall for LAMDA and Central, using Shakespeare monologues from the play I had studied, but that was about the height of my success. I had to look for other options. That's when the National Youth Theatre came into play.
I had heard about it the year before, applied and was waitlisted, and never got called in. I wanted to be an actor, and their alumni list was super impressive, so I said I would try again. The next year I sent off my tape to NYT, got the recall, and got into the course. Brilliant, that was my summer plans sorted. Next year's plan was still undecided, and with mounting pressure from my family, I needed to sort something out ASAP.
God bless the algorithm! In my moment of need, an Instagram ad popped up for a year-long actor training course that was completely FREE! Haha, I could not believe my luck. I sent off my tape to Peer Productions, got the recall, and got into the course. Brilliant, that was next year's plans sorted. I still don't know whether it was hard work, luck, or fate that the pieces fell together so perfectly, but I didn't question it. Went full steam ahead, dropped out of uni, and began my new acting life.
Peer Productions
In 2024, I attended Peer Productions. They are a youth arts charity specialising in Theatre In Education. It was a year of free actor training, with the added opportunity of getting to tour plays to local secondary schools in Surrey. One of the draws was that it was a gap year opportunity before applying to drama schools. FUN FACT - 100% of my cohort received one or more offers to study at many UK drama schools.
The wonderful Leader of Learning, Suzanne, was paramount to our success, and it started off strong in assisting us with our Shakespeare monologues. Working with someone who is passionate about Shakespeare makes learning so much easier and more fun. She made space for us to play around with words and meanings, allowing us to create our own methodologies for deciphering Shakespeare.
THE RETURN OF 'MEASURE FOR MEASURE' - I chose to explore Angelo's monologue from Measure for Measure (Act 2, Scene 4), where he threatens Isabella to sentence her brother to death if she does not sleep with him. It was such a disgusting reality to play and live in, and i was drawn to it. I loved the monologue so much that I decided to perform the whole scene (with my incredibly talented scene partner, Anna) for my final-term showcase.
At the end of my Peer Productions journey, this monologue got me into four UK drama schools and completely reignited my love for Shakespeare. I decided to reject my drama school offers and instead wanted to gain performance experience.
Romeo and Juliet
My first West End performance took place in November of 2025, where I played Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet at the Trafalgar Theatre. I heard about this opportunity through a good friend, Kaja, whom I met doing a play with the London Youth Theatre. I sent my audition self-tape during the break of the matinee and evening show and found out the next day that I was in.
Rehearsals started in July, and we were given sessions and techniques to understand and perform Shakespeare. We learnt about Laban Punctuation and how to look for the clues in the text, such as alliteration and Iambic pentameter. It was an unforgettable experience that solidified my goal of performing Shakespeare professionally.
All In Actors
The most recent stage of my Shakespeare journey has been training at All In Actors, a part-time, year-long acting course that prepares you to work in the industry. It covers all the drama school essentials and more. When approaching the Shakespeare module, we were all told to leave our preconceptions and learned knowledge behind. As I was still pretty new to performing Shakespeare, this wasn’t too much of an ask for me. The scenes we were exploring were from Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet. I was cast in the Macbeth scene, which gave me an opportunity to delve into a small piece of the text.
We spent a lot of time dissecting the language and playing with the emotions without words. It has been a really enjoyable way for me to explore Shakespeare, and it felt like another full circle moment from the first Shakespeare text that I explored in school.
It gave that play a new lease of life and an energy I had never considered when reading it previously. It has cemented my desire to perform classical work, and, lucky for me, our final-term public show will be A Midsummer Night’s Dream!
It seems as if the stars are all aligned.
What's Next?
The big question looming over me at the moment is, What is next? I don't know is the simple answer. My hope is that this blog will give me a goal and, therefore, a direction to move forward in, to try to actualise my dreams. All I know is that as I sit here and write from my bed, I have a very good feeling about the future ahead.
"I absolutely love Shakespeare" - Benjamin Molalign (2026)
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