Drama

The Drama Department began the year with a bang with our senior production of Laura Wade’s ‘Alice’ at the end of the Autumn Term. With a cast and crew of more than 70 students, our fabulous actors brought the whacky characters to life with ease, as the audience laughed and cried their way through one of the most well-known stories of our time. Our outstanding technical and backstage crew faced new challenges with the ever shrinking and growing props, not to mention the disappearing carpets! Continuing with the comedy theme, our super talented First Years followed suit early in the Spring Term with our annual ‘Panto Week’. We saw the entire year group perform their very own take on some of the Panto classics and they did not disappoint! Students performed effortlessly in front of staff and their peers, with many stepping out of their comfort zone to take the stage for the very first time and once again, it was a roaring success. Oh, yes it was! Later in the Spring Term, we were blown away by the sheer sophistication of our second senior play of the year, The Diary of Anne Frank. With just a handful of students and some very careful direction from Mr Lofthouse, students captured the heart-wrenching feel of the story and there was not a dry eye in the house! Unfortunately, as our year was cut short, we did not have the pleasure of showcasing the talents of our Fourth Year GCSE and Lower Sixth A Level students in the annual Drama and Dance Evening. However, they have still been busy devising their very own performances following workshops with some fantastic theatre companies, including Frantic Assembly and George Dillon, specialising in physical theatre techniques. We are very excited to see their work develop as we move into the new academic year!

It would be criminal not to mention our amazing Fifth Year and Upper Sixth students, who also produced some outstanding work this year. Although they did not have the opportunity to sit the written exam, they completed all of their practical components and as always, they were truly outstanding. Performances were engaging and thought-provoking as students tackled some very hardhitting topics including the freedom of speech movement, religion, feminism and the refugee crisis. Once again, our students really did excel and we are extremely proud of what they have accomplished this year. Our LAMDA students also continued to flourish, as did our ever-expanding extra-curricular Drama clubs, with many students ‘dipping their toes in’ for the first time, only to become key players. We look forward to seeing how our students progress even further as they continue their Drama journey. Here’s to another jam-packed year! Miss S Carty

“students captured the heart-wrenching feel of the story and there was not a dry eye in the house”