Maximilian Marston - BSN Alumni, Class of 2013

Shortly after joining JSV as a Year 6 student, Max performed his first bit of Shakespeare when cast as Ferdinand in the children’s version of The Tempest. He still remembers many of the songs and lines from the production 13 years later. “The school did a good job of making me feel welcome and involved. My teachers saw that I had a penchant for Drama, and they really allowed me to delve into that right from the start.”

As he describes it, there was never a eureka moment; Max has always wanted to be an actor. “I wasn’t the strongest academically or in sports – but I knew that I felt at home on stage, and that was where my talents shone through.”

Being cast as Joseph in SSV’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat particularly stands out for him. “Ms Ball gave me the opportunity to do that part, and that was the first time that I felt I came into my own.”

“The school did a good job of making me feel welcome and involved. My teachers saw that I had a penchant for Drama, and they really allowed me to delve into that right from the start.”

“Drama and the arts are a vital part of our education; we need imagination and creativity to go anywhere in this world. Our students gain so much from working with other professionals to see what the possibilities are for life beyond the classroom.”

-Hazel Ball, Head of Drama, SSV

In September this year, the BSN community had the privilege of hosting The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, the critically-acclaimed open-air touring theatre company from the UK, for the fifth time. However, this year Max was one of the seven cast members of the company. It’s hard not to see the poetry of returning to perform the same play he watched nearly a decade ago as a Year 12 student.

“I remember seeing [The Lord Chamberlain’s Men], being absolutely blown away by their performance, and thinking they were incredible”. Seven years later, Max jumped at the opportunity to audition and was then cast in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the company. Nine years later, he was cast and returned to perform Macbeth.

Max with his former BSN Drama teacher, Ms Ball.

Following the performance, Max spoke about how meaningful it was to return to his alma mater.

“Out of all the people I’ve met since [the BSN], my closest friends are from the BSN... My memories of the BSN are overwhelmingly positive, especially the later years – GCSEs and A Levels. I remember those years as some of the best years of my life thus far.”

The Lord Chamberlain's Men open-air production of Macbeth, performed at SSV for the BSN community,