All the world’s a stage

OTs ON STAGE AND SCREEN

Looking back though the School archives, it is clear that drama has always been part of the fabric of Tudor. I have no doubt that the girls involved in the 1943 production of The Blue Bird (left) looked back on that experience in later life with the same fondness that the girls involved in the 2019 production of Oklahoma! will in years to come.

The auditions, the friendships growing during rehearsals, the costumes, the smell of the paint on the newly-completed set, the adrenaline of opening night all combine to create a unique shared experience and the sense of achievement that comes from having created something together, bigger than ourselves.

JUSTINE STEPHENS, Head of Drama, comments:

“From day one, my aim has been for the drama department at Tudor to ignite, and nurture, a passion for drama and theatre in the girls. Drama is no longer just about being in school productions, but involves the study and practical exploration of plays, developing a knowledge and understanding of theatre history and key practitioners, not to mention the building of confidence generated through acting and group work. At Tudor, drama provision is inclusive with plentiful opportunities for girls to master the practical elements of the subject, as well as the academic. There is a genuine buzz around our new Drama Studio in which the girls are encouraged to play and be creative, to immerse themselves in new worlds and walk in other people’s shoes. It has been wonderful to see girls’ confidence grow through the years as a result of their theatrical experiences, whether on the stage or behind the scenes. For a small department, we certainly punch above our weight and a significant number of girls have gone on to successfully audition for drama school or pursue degree courses at university. Girls have also participated in the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival, achieved entry to the National Youth Theatre (NYT) and enjoyed success in the National Theatre’s New Views Playwriting Competition. A great many memories for life are made here!”

Here is what a selection of OTs who have gone on to have careers on stage and screen have to say about their work and about their experiences at Tudor.

TORI BUTLER-HART (2002)

After leaving Tudor I went on to do a BA in Acting at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama,

which co-incidentally was where Pat Caddick, my drama teacher at Tudor, had gone. My three years training there were amazing and it taught me a lot about the craft of acting, developing a character and the tools needed, but not necessarily much about surviving in the industry and how tough that would be.

Realistically not everyone will be lucky enough to leave drama school and land a great agent and a great job that propels them into stardom, no matter how much they want it. I learnt that I’d have to create work for myself in order to survive in the industry and to begin to make my mark. I started a small theatre company soon after leaving drama school and through that I met my husband, Matt. We then together started Fizz and Ginger Films – that was ten years ago.

Over the past decade we’ve made numerous short films, three feature films and co-produced and worked on several others. We’ve been lucky enough to have had actors such as Ian McKellen, Simon Callow, Conleth

Emma King, Tori Butler-Hart and Alix Wilton-Regan in The Isle.

Hill and Felicity Montagu star in them and had support from people such as Stephen Fry and Derek Jacobi. In 2013 we were featured as part of Screen International’s ‘Stars of Tomorrow’. Our most recent feature film, The Isle, was one of the few British independent feature films of 2019 to be released theatrically in the US and later in the year was picked up by Lionsgate in the UK. It has sold well both on DVD and on demand and has enjoyed excellent reviews including Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian “modestly and intelligently conceived…hints of Shakespeare and classical Scots mythology.”

In the past year we have been able to continue to build our profile, showcase me as an actress and my husband as a director. This has led us to be commissioned to write a book, Full to the brim with Fizz, Ginger and Fierce Determination: a modern guide to independent film making, which will be published in early 2021. It was so lovely to return to Tudor last September to talk to the girls about film making, writing, acting and producing. It brought back some wonderful memories of my time there, of being in Todd and being cast as one of the princes in the Sixth Form production of Richard III. Much to Emma Nichols’ and my delight, we got to act with the Upper Sixth, which was SO exciting and we got to miss hockey for rehearsals, which was even better! It was the first of many wonderful productions that I was lucky enough to be involved in at Tudor, learning so much from my fantastic teachers Victoria Ryan, Pat Caddick and Susie Lowe. I was also hugely passionate about dance and loved being involved in many of Bronwen Robinson’s gorgeous choreographies. One of my fondest memories of Tudor was playing Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, when I had the opportunity to combine my physical dance and movement skills with my acting. We had a huge tree made out of scaffolding and Pat

and Bronwen helped me to create a Puck who rather sinisterly glided and slithered up and down the tree, sometimes moving so slowly, it was barely noticeable.

Next year we have two fantastic feature films that we’re taking into production: a comedy heist film with drag queens and a biopic about a leading figure in the entertainment industry. Every project we work on teaches us something new and brings with it different and exciting challenges. What I learnt at Tudor absolutely inspired me to be who I wanted to be and create my own work and, it turns out, the learning never ceases.

www.fizzandgingerfilms.co.uk

DEIDRE DIANE DEUCHAR FAWCETT (1957)

I think that I caught the acting bug when encouraged by our dearly loved form teacher, Mrs Clothier. As a birthday present to her, I wrote and produced a play for us all to celebrate and my fate was sealed!

Upon leaving college, I was accepted as a student – on a wage of £1 a week – at the Theatre Royal in York. The Company was directed by Donald Bodley and the cast included Jean Alexander (later to be known as Coronation Street’s Hilda Ogden), Jimmy Beck (from Dad’s Army), Jeffery Dench (brother to Judy), and Carol Coombe (stepmother to Antony Armstrong-Jones).

Next, a short stay at The Playhouse at Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, then off to Whitby for a summer season of repertory. On to Tyne Tees TV in a multitude of roles before London called.

A fun job was as one of the Britvic Cherry B twins at the Ideal Homes Exhibition. I then learned to ice skate and joined the Tom Arnold production of the Walt Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Ice for a year’s tour of the Moss Empire Circuit culminating with the Royal Variety Performance for Her Majesty The Queen at the Liverpool Empire Theatre. Kenny Baker, our smallest dwarf, was later to star as R2-D2 in Star Wars.

Then I got married and had two lovely daughters, Sue and SallyAnn, hung up my acting shoes and went on to publish a small book of poems called Siesta and later to breed and show St Bernard dogs.

Left: Deidre Deuchar Fawcett in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs with Kenny Baker, later of Star Wars fame.

ROSE HOCKADAY (2011)

I am a stage manager, which means I work on a production from the first day of rehearsals all the way through until the final show. It’s my job to make sure rehearsals run on time, and to work with the director and creative team to help bring to life their vision for the production. Another part of a stage manager’s job is prop sourcing; this means finding and buying props for a show within the required budget.

Once we get into the venue, I run the technical and dress rehearsals. And then for the run I operate sound and lighting, as well as maintaining the costume, set and props, and looking after the actors’ well-being.

I work freelance, which means I don’t work for a specific theatre but for individual shows, so this gives me the opportunity to work on a wide variety of productions. In the

last year I have worked on shows ranging from Pops at Edinburgh Fringe, to Spiderfly and Wolfie at Theatre503, and next up is a UK tour of The Wizard of Oz. Another recent production I worked on - a modern adaptation of Antigone at the New Diorama Theatre, with just Antigone and her sister Ismene on stage – brought back a lot of memories from studying Antigone in GCSE drama at Tudor. I had played a member of the chorus, and the Messenger who delivers the news of Antigone’s death (spoiler alert).

One of the things I most enjoyed about drama at Tudor was the fun we had choosing our costumes for the performances. We would get all the costume rails out from storage and sometimes Mrs Stephens would hire some from Wacky Wardrobes in Banbury. Then we would spend most of the lesson

Stage design for Antigone at the New Diorama Theatre. Rose working behind the scenes at her computer.

trying on lots of different costumes. One of the most dramatic moments I can remember was in our UVI devised performance when we had to stop the show about five minutes in, as the laptop we were using for projection had stopped working. We took a short but tense and tearful break and then started the show again, this time without

any technical issues. This was a few years before the Drama Studio was built, so we performed in the gym and rehearsed mainly in the squash courts, which became the purposebuilt Drama Studio a couple of years after I left.

Twitter: @rosehockaday Instagram: @rosehock

LIZZIE SIMONSEN (Jago,

1981)

I had the complete delight of discovering the wonders of the English language through the inspirational teaching of Mr Elsley, Head of English at Tudor Hall during my time there. Through plays, public speaking competitions and regular homework learning Shakespeare sonnets, he kindled not only a love of literature in me, but also lit the spark of theatre, a passion which has stayed with me all my life.

After Tudor Hall I studied Drama and Education at Exeter University, followed by several years of working with children and the performing arts around the world. This took me from street theatre in the slums of Delhi, orphanages in Vietnam, and a special school in North Devon, to Spain, Buckfast Abbey,

and mud huts with the Lou tribe in Western Kenya, eventually ending up working with unaccompanied minors in the Rwandan refugee camps in Northern Tanzania, where I met my husband.

We settled in Kenya, where we brought up our thee boys, and I set up the Youth Theatre of Kenya

A scene from ‘Cabbage Football’.

(YTK) along with a wonderful team of young people. This is a theatre company that offers the opportunity of theatrical excellence to all youth of Kenya, regardless of background. We work with young people from the slums together with the offspring of wealthy politicians, talent and passion being the common bond. Our productions all tell true stories of Kenya and East Africa, written and composed by the youth themselves; theatre giving a voice.

One of our first musicals was a show called Kesho Amahoro which means ‘Peace Tomorrow’ in Rwandese and tells the true story of a group of children I worked with in the refugee camps of Tanzania. Over the years we have told the story of the building of the East African railway, the slave trade off Zanzibar, the untold story of the Kenyan involvement in World War One and corruption and land struggles in Nairobi.

We are currently working on an environmental project with the Apple movie The Elephant Queen, using theatre as a tool for communities in Kenya to work with the issues of human/wildlife conflict in a search for peaceful, sustainable solutions.

This last year we performed a particularly powerful production called Matumaini which means ‘hopes’ in Swahili. It tells the true story of youth in Korogocho slum in Nairobi, which is built around a huge dump site, and how their lives are transformed by a classical music programme called Ghetto Classics. This production has now won a place at the International Youth Arts Festival in Kingston UK, so it’s full-on planning and fundraising to take a cast of fifty from Kenya to the UK this summer!

I hope Mr Elsley would have been proud. I know for sure that he would have smiled serenely, in his tweed jacket, and told me quite firmly that I was to make sure to spell the word ‘accommodation’ correctly! It was always the first word on the weekly spelling list and whether we were freezing in the cow sheds, or boiling in our green and white striped dresses, we would spell that word with the discipline he demanded. I have never forgotten that lesson – that the key to success in the performing arts is discipline, practice and an unrelenting pursuit of excellence. And of course …. bags of fun! Thank you Mr Elsley x

INDIA SHAW-SMITH (2013)

After leaving Tudor, India went on to study at The London Academy of Music & Dramatic Art (LAMDA) achieving a First Class BA (Hons) Degree in Professional Acting [2014-2017]. Since graduating she has performed one of the principal roles in a new production with The National Theatre of Scotland, Eddie & the Slumber Sisters, as well as appearing on ITV’s Vanity Fair. India has since moved to Canada where she has been working on TV

India Shaw-Smith as Kayleen in ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’ co-starring with Éanna O’Dowd as Doug.

shows such as Supernatural (CW) and The Magicians (Syfy) and has most recently starred as Kayleen in a production of Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries at The Cultch Theatre, Vancouver.

In 2018 India visited Tudor to attend the first TA-DAs (Tudor Awards for Dramatic Art) where she received the inaugural award for ‘services to drama’ at the School.

India had a wonderful time at Tudor and attributes her continued passion and success to Mrs Stephens and Mr Christopher who always challenged and inspired her. Their tutelage also helped her gain a place in The National Youth Theatre in 2011 [to present]. Some of her favourite Tudor memories include playing the Lion in The Wizard of Oz, Fräulein Schneider in Cabaret and Juliet in Romeo and Juliet. She would like to thank Miss Griffiths, Mrs Stephens, Mr Christopher, Mrs Lowe and all the department for their care and support during her time at Tudor and beyond.

FLORENCE TAYLOR (2010)

Having completed my MA in Creative Producing, graduating with a First, I’m now working as a freelance producer, as Executive Director of Voices Across Time and as an Events Coordinator for The Royal British Legion - so life is pretty busy.

I have two stand-out ‘dramatic’ memories from Tudor. The first is when we, the AS Drama students, were waiting to go on to perform our final piece. It was a show about Antonin Artaud and it was quite a hard-hitting piece. We’d been off lessons rehearsing all day and had to wait until 9:30pm to perform it. Though we were frustrated at having to wait, we kept each other focused, which really added to the performance. We were a close group and that’s what I love about the outcome of performing with people. The second is the rehearsals and performances of The Wizard of Oz, which was in my final year, and I still perform with Jasmine Faulkner (Dorothy) today

Now I run my own theatre company, Voices Across Time, with my two best friends. The company is four years old and we write original stories based around British History and weave in the music and songs of the time. Our latest show, Till The Boys Come Home, was awarded Arts Council Funding and was performed

The cast, crew and creative team of Voices Across Time’s ‘Till The Boys Come Home’.

for three nights in November at Banbury Town Hall. Alongside all of the shows we write and produce we also run an outreach project, which aims to bring theatre to those who might not necessarily be able to access it, looking especially at targeting the fall of arts in education and the threat of isolation in the Cherwell District area. For Till The Boys Come Home, we visited eight primary schools in and around Banbury with our interactive workshops which prepared them to then watch a special performance of the show in the venue at the end of the week. This year we will be writing a brand new show, which will tour in the autumn and also a revival of our 2018 hit Christmas Across Time, which will also tour in December.

More information on Voices Across Time and how to get involved and support us can be found on our website: www.voicesacrosstime.com R