West End stars pay us a visit
Two West End stars visited us for a series of activities this term.
Renowned Welsh actor Iwan Lewis was joined by Olivia Brereton, where they sang and took part in a question and answer session with both senior and prep pupils.
Mr Lewis graduated from the Guildford School of Acting in 2010, and is best known for his roles of Emmett in the UK tour of the stage version of Legally Blonde and Bahorel in the film version of Les Miserables.
Ms Brereton is known for her roles in the Phantom of the Opera UK Tour and The Brilliant Original, London, and the pair were impressed with the eagerness of our pupils during the visit.
Mr Lewis, said: “Everyone was really attentive and seemed to enjoy themselves, and it is great to see so many young people interested in acting and everything else that comes with it.
“You can clearly see how passionate the teachers are about their work, and this is clearly translating to the pupils, which is great.
“Acting can be extremely important for a young person’s development and teaches them a number of characteristics and disciplines that they can take forward with them into later life, and it is wonderful to see it being utilised so heavily here.”
During the question and answer session Mr Lewis told a number of interesting anecdotes regarding his co-star in Les Mis - Russell Crowe – before judging the school’s Inter-house Drama Competition later that evening.
Three drama pupils put on a dark play as part of their A-level examinations.
Lydia Dickson, Alexa Rowlands and Scarlett Salisbury adapted the Five Kinds of Silence by Shelagh Stephenson to perform “What is Love?”, and after a series of rehearsals throughout the day performed in-front of an audience on Monday, November 9.
The story revolves around a family of four in which control has become a driving force.
Two adult daughters, along with their mother, attempt to free themselves from their father’s control by killing him, but his influence remains following his death.
After opening with Billy’s death, the play then fast-forwards six months on, where the impact of the murder are hitting each woman individually.
Miss Earle, said: “It was a brilliant and truly harrowing performance.
“If the pupils’ were looking to shock then they achieved their objective, but their performances were emotional, powerful and really got the significance of the story across.
“All three girls worked tremendously hard and they should be proud of their final product and how it was received.”
Our pupils also got a chilling look into life during World War One from a theatre group performance.
They were treated to a performance from the Badac Theatre Company, who opened their tour at the school.
Set during WWI, “The Flood” focusses on the intense physical, emotional and psychological effects of war.
It follows the story of a couple - a nurse and soldier on the frontlines who are separated by battle - and her dreams of the darkness enveloping her loved one haunt her until his dying day.
Steve Lambert, from the Badac Theatre Company, said: “The original idea was based around a family story of my great aunt who had a fiancée that was killed during the war.
“She never got over his death or never married even though she lived into her eighties. It struck me that there must have been thousands of other love stories throughout the war that ended in tragedy and that is how The Flood came about.”
Following the performance there was a 25 minute question and answer session with the two actors, where we found out more about the company and the sort of work it takes to make a show such as this a success.