Is very theatrical account welcomed by public school’s head? (8)
I believe the answer is:
overacts
'is' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are verbs in their -s form, I don't see how they can define each other.
'theatrical account welcomed by public school's head?' is the wordplay.
'theatrical account' becomes 'ac' (abbreviation for account. I am not sure about the 'theatrical' bit.).
'welcomed by' indicates putting letters inside (letters welcomed inside).
'public' becomes 'overt' (both can mean well-known or unconcealed).
'head?' suggests taking the first letters (I've seen 'heading' mean this (head could mean the top letter)).
The first letter of 'schools' is 's'.
'ac' put inside 'overt' is 'overact'.
'overact'+'s'='OVERACTS'
'very' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for overacts that I've seen before include "Hams it up" , "performs badly" , "What a ham thespian does" , "Performs with unnecessary exaggeration" , "Clumsily plays" .)