By Anne W. Semmes
There was much to be celebrated of things English two Sundays ago with 100 enthusiasts gathered at The Belle Haven Club for the 78th Birthday of King Charles III held by the Greenwich Branch of the English-Speaking Union (ESU). Also celebrated were those having competed in the ESU annual Shakespeare Competition.
And as with each annual ESU English monarch birthday celebration, there was a plethora of distinctive and decorative hats worn by the ladies, with the gentlemen appropriately dressed.
Addressing all was the former chair of the ESU of the United States now Ambassador Paul Beresford-Hill, CBE, KM, representing the Sovereign Order of Malta to the United Nations. King Charles, he introduced as “a man whose life has been devoted to public service, cultural stewardship, and the enduring values that bind communities and nations together.” And in this 250th anniversary year he told, “the ESU occupies a unique place in the transatlantic relationship.”
“The English language,” he continued, “has become one of humanity’s greatest instruments of communication…The ESU demonstrates every day that language can be a conduit for cooperation rather than conflict, for friendship rather than division, and for peaceful coexistence rather than suspicion.” Ideals he believed “resonate deeply with King Charles… Long before he ascended the throne, he developed a reputation for bringing together people who might not ordinarily sit around the same table.”
One aspect of that English language that has “captured the imagination of King Charles throughout his life,” said the Ambassador, “is literature, particularly the works of William Shakespeare. Over the years he has spoken eloquently about the enduring relevance of Shakespeare’s insights into human nature, leadership, love, ambition, courage, folly, and even redemption. Great literature teaches us how to see the world through each other’s eyes, and that lesson lies at the very heart of Shakespeare and the mission of the English-Speaking Union. And it is also central to the enduring friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Toasting King Charles
In his conclusion the Ambassador said, “We celebrate the work of the ESU whose mission demonstrates that language can be and is a force for unity in a divided world.” He followed with a favorite Shakespearian line of his King: “It’s from ‘Henry V: We are but warriors for the working day.’” Then it was toast time: “Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in raising a glass to His Majesty Charles III. Happy birthday, Your Majesty. God save the King.”
“That was profound and inspiring,” said Natalie Pray, presiding President for 20 years of the Greenwich Branch of the ESU. “So, now we have the Shakespeare competition – Chairman Anne Elser, please introduce our Shakespeare winner.”
“The 2026 Shakespeare competition was held on March 4 at the Berkley Theater at Greenwich Library,” Elser told. “The competition is open to students from ninth to 12th grades, from public, independent, and parochial high schools, with 16 students from eight schools statewide.” Judges for the competition were Mark Shanahan, artistic director of the Westport Country Playhouse, and “noted and prolific actors, Angela Reed and Tod Cerveris.” First place winner was Abby Kesmodel from Greenwich Academy, Second place, Rowan Simonelli, ACES Educational Center for the Arts. Third place, Kara Starkey, ACES Educational Center for the Arts. And an honorable mention to Ruby Sickles of Brunswick School.
And present was first place winner Abby Kesmodel of Greenwich Academy. “She will perform Shakespeare’s Sonnet 147.” Kesmodel would deliver that 14-line sonnet, by memory and with verve, beginning, “My love is as a fever, longing still / For that which longer nurseth the disease, / Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill, / Th’ uncertain sickly appetite to please…”
Stepping up next was ESU Education Chairman Brigid Barry to introduce the winning high school teacher to receive a scholarship to study at the Globe Theater in London in the summer. She welcomed East Hartford High School teacher Melissa Ewing. “I’m looking forward to going to London in July,” said Ewing. “I’ll be there for two weeks… learning how to embrace Shakespeare through more of a performance aspect than in the classroom.” Having taught 20 years at the high school level she was seeing it “more and more difficult to get students engaged in Shakespeare.” She looked forward to “the opportunity to study at the birthplace of where Shakespeare became ultimately one of our founding fathers of the English language through performance. Thank you very much.”
Debates and public speaking
President Pray would next welcome “special guest” ESU National President and Executive Director Karen Karpowich. She told of their capital campaign having “raised over $900,000 this past year for operational support for so many of the amazing programs that you’ve experienced here today.” She highlighted the ESU’s “very active New York City debate league,” noting an expansion of debate programs and international public speaking programs. “In July we’re sending a student over to compete with students from all over the world,” she said. But before introducing the winning student, she noted the theme of that public speaking competition. “We decided to honor two of our past presidents, Winston Churchill and Dwight David Eisenhower and the theme of the talk was “When to speak and when to listen,”
She then introduced the winning Katherine Zhou from Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut. “She is going to give the speech that gave her the award, but she is doing another speech in London, but we did think this presentation was important given our history and who we are.” Zhou took to the podium with her father in the front row.
“Thank you. It is an absolute honor to be here in front of you today,” and then she began her memorable talk lasting some five minutes, mostly memorized. “There is a lie we tell ourselves about silence. We call it neutrality… Silence is a vote. Every time you knew something was wrong, but said nothing, that was a vote… Every time a citizen of a free society decided that speaking was someone else’s responsibility, that was a vote…Churchill understood that… He spoke when the truth was unwelcome, when fear was louder than reason, when silence would have been easier. Eisenhower understood it too. He warned his own nation at the height of its power, not because it was popular, but because it was necessary.”
“Free societies,” she continued, “do not require genius from their citizens. They do not require thunder or certainty or the kind of audacity that gets names in textbooks. They require the daily, unglamorous, costly decision to believe that your voice is worth the price of using it. To stand up when you have been told to sit down, to take this stage when you would much rather blend into the background, to speak up when it would have been so much easier to stay silent because silence is a vote… The future is not written by the people who stay silent. It is written by the people who decided truth mattered more than their comfort, more than their safety and more than their silence. Thank you.”
“If you doubt at all why you’re a member of this organization or where your dollars are going, I think that is the illustration,” concluded ESU National President Karen Karpowich.
