DRAMA

‘Fifteens’ sees boys step into spotlight

Cast of 50 puts on Shakespeare in Love

A 50-strong cast of boys from the Second Year to Upper Sixth, together with pupils from Tonbridge Grammar School, Hillview and Weald of Kent, put on five superb performances of Shakespeare in Love at the EM Forster Theatre.

Clad in costumes from the National Theatre and the local Oast Theatre, the cast delighted audiences with their story of a young Shakespeare suffering with writer’s block until he meets the love of his life, Viola de Lesseps.

An incredible set saw the theatre transformed into an Elizabethan thrust stage.

The plot intertwines Shakespearean verse from the play he is writing, Romeo and Ethel the Pirate’s Daughter, with modern dialogue from playwright Tom Stoppard, which both satirises and celebrates the theatrical profession.

The Lent Term saw the launch of a new House Drama Competition, Fifteens. Boys were handed the challenge of producing their own piece – a scene from a published play, an adaptation or an original piece of writing – which could be no longer than 15 minutes.

Houses came up with a variety of entertaining and thought-provoking performances, ranging from an absurdist piece of mime to amended film scripts and versions of classic plays including Edward II and The History Boys.

The 12 plays were staged over two nights of heats, with the final judged by former Tonbridge pupil Seb Fear, a professional film and stage actor. Whitworth won the contest with a comically rewritten version of Oedipus, directed by Harry Lang (WW4) and Jack Isted (WW4)

Gavin Bruce, Director of Theatre, said:

“Congratulations to all for such an impressive range of work, and I’m already looking forward to seeing 12 new plays next year.”