School Matters 36

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WOMAN IN BLACK 24 very excited S10 and PVI GCSE Drama pupils were taken to see a live performance of The Woman in Black at the Fortune Theatre. Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s best-selling novel tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse that he believes has been cast over his family by the spectre of a ‘Woman in Black’. The production starts off slowly as it lures the audience into a false sense of security with old Mr Kipps reading and re-reading his twenty-hour novel to an actor. However, the pace soon picks up leaving us gripped in suspense and wondering where the mysterious woman wearing black may appear next. The minute one walks into the Fortune Theatre there is a mysterious atmosphere. It is small and cramped and the stage looks bare as though it is old and run down. This sets the tone of the play and adds to the eerie atmosphere of the production. We were all completely immersed in the retelling of the ghost story performed by just two actors, Max Hutchinson and Terence Wilton. The extraordinarily loud sound effects, unsettling blackouts and

Best Performer: Honor Avon

Winners: Brearley House

HOUSE DRAMA COMPETITION Congratulations to all the participants in this year’s House Drama Competition. We were most grateful to our Adjudicator, Mr Richard Upton, for his expert commentary and guidance. His awards went as follows: Best Script: Paget House ( Time and Time Again ) Best Director: Leo Hincks (Montefiore House) Best Performer: Honor Avon (Findlay House) Highly commended performers: Mattia Romano (Montefiore), Brooks Finkel (Paget), Polly Wright (Brearley) Overall Winners: Brearley House ( The Not So Great Escape , written and directed by Rosie Wright and Alice Mitchell) Well done to everyone who took part, especially the Sixth Form directors and backstage technical support teams.

disorientating smoke stimulated our imagination to play tricks on us. We all left the theatre feeling as though we had been caught up in the curse! This wonderful play will form the basis of the ‘Live Theatre Response’ of the pupils’ GCSE examination, providing a focus for learning how to analyse and evaluate a production. Mrs Antonia Arora, Teacher of Drama

Group One, Grace Davidson, Joshua Titchen and Hayden White, performed ‘Media Madness’ which successfully educated the audience on what really goes on in the media. They mastered the skills of multi–roling, quick transitions and direct address as they performed an informative and entertaining piece of theatre.

GCSE DRAMA – DEVISED PERFORMANCES

Group Two, Joseph Cleave, Amelia Duda and Jemima Pugh, performed a Frantic Assembly inspired piece called ‘See you Soon’ which followed the journey of two children as they are evacuated from the bombing of London during World War II. They creatively incorporated monologue, music, lifts, and movement effectively to tell their heart-warming story. Group Three, Lucas Behling, Alexa Hughes, Evelina Kitsantas and Noah Marks, performed ‘Tied Up’ a piece that shows a victim’s experience of human trafficking and how they are trapped within the system. They effectively used Bertolt Brecht’s alienation technique to distance the audience from the emotional pull of the situation and produce an entertaining and thought-provoking piece that kept the audience engaged throughout. The pupils’ performances were splendid, and the results were fantastic. They should all be proud of their achievements. Congratulations to the Drama class of 2022!

As part of the GCSE course, pupils are required to devise a piece of theatre in response to a given stimulus and in the style of a theatre practitioner. Performances of the pupils’ work impressed a most appreciative audience in the Studio Theatre. The process has been a valuable experience as it has taught them how to create initial ideas, write a script and then finally perform in front of an audience with lighting, sound and costumes.