The Lower School production this year was The Complete Works of William Shakespeare( abridged), by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.
As the name suggests, this was a high-speed performance condensing all of Shakespeare’ s plays. It was such an enjoyable production to work on because there was always a friendly and welcoming atmosphere behind the scenes and onstage, and the experienced and patient teachers always had the solution to a problem – whether it was a misplaced prop or helping with tricky choreography – although everyone had to take some responsibility when they misplaced an item. All the teachers working on this show deserve a HUGE thank you because they put so much work into the whole production.
A rollercoaster reduction of the Bard’ s theatrical works, not recommended for Shakespeare scholars or anti-humorists
The cast were all Lower School students who chose to take part in a drama club that would turn into this hard-working production. Our cast consisted of 54 talented and passionate students from Years 7 and 8, but another huge part of the reason why the play turned out to be so successful was also because of the tech team who learned everything – every cue, button, light and switch – so quickly without question or hesitation.
During the first act, all of Shakespeare’ s history plays were represented and summarised in the football scene, with the crown as the ball. This was really fun to watch and be a part of because it was such a clever and entertaining way to represent the crown being passed down in history. The audience really enjoyed this scene because it helped to connect an educational part of the play to some of the younger members of the audience and it also had many funny and light-hearted aspects such as Henry VIII waddling onstage with his large stomach. Being all in slow motion, this scene was a great and professional way to break the fourth wall and show off the actors’ ability to stay in character and focus at all times. This was probably one of the biggest scenes in the play but everyone really got involved and it turned out to be a huge success.
Imogen Lidiard and Penelope Rowbotham, Year 7
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