Just 12 months ago the school hadn't ever provided drama classes, yet in the next few weeks students will stage Othello and attend a private workshop with actor Kevin Spacey.

The dramatic transformation can be credited to two young teachers who were fresh from Macquarie University when they started the school's first drama club late last year.

"The kids had never been involved in theatre," English teacher Angelica Nejal, 28, said. "Some of them couldn't even speak in public and now they are doing Shakespeare."

Ms Nejal and her colleague Melissa Scerri trained as drama teachers and wanted to use their skills to show pupils there is more to an education than maths, science and comprehension.

They started a drama club after school hours and leapt into Shakespeare.

"Because if you can do Shakespeare, you can do anything," Ms Nejal said.

Her pupils didn't baulk at the challenge.

Rather than stage a contemporary adaptation, the first-time actors went with the original version of Othello with all its Old English verse.

"I said whoever wants to be in this play just show your hands; all you need is to show initiative, don't worry about the skills, I will mould you," Ms Nejal said.

More pupils than were needed to cover the script were eager so the drama club decided to stage the play using multiple casts; three Desdemonas, two Othellos, a few Iagos . . . all from different ethnic backgrounds.

"When I was at school, I went to a primarily Anglo school," Ms Nejal, of Asian heritage, explained. "They did typecasting . . . I thought you could never have an Asian Juliette."

Oh, and then there is Kevin Spacey, the actor from The Usual Suspects, American Beauty and The Men Who Stare At Goats.

Spacey will be in Sydney to star in Richard III at the Lyric Theatre next month.

As he travels with the production around the world, Spacey has organised a series of workshops called Richard Rampage with young actors.