No. 141 The Trusty Servant
Drama
The indefatigable Kevin Fondain, Head of Drama( CoRo, 20-) enjoys( and sometimes is) the show:
In November, Phil’ s took to the stage with The Wind in the Willows. A behemoth of an undertaking for directors Eva Crouch( G, 24-) and Anna Matthews( G, 24-), the production brought together around 40 pupils in a lively and ambitious retelling of the classic. George Freeman( G, 23-) made a lasting impression with a gloriously larger-than-life Toad, while the show as a whole was praised for its inventive make-up and strong sense of ensemble.
In the final week of Short Half, Adeline Lombardo( CoRo, 03-) and I decided to bring a little joy with a Christmas panto. Trouble in Pantoland stitched together a host of familiar fairytales into a fast-paced and playful end-of-term production. Playing to full and gleeful audiences each night, the cast embraced the style with real confidence. I even found myself stepping on stage at the last minute as the Wicked Queen: a suitably dramatic twist to an already eventful week.
Cook’ s opened drama in Common Time with Black Comedy, directed by Johnny Wyatt( C, 21-). With a smaller cast, the focus was firmly on precision and timing, as pupils tackled the play’ s central challenge: performing a blackout scene while the stage remains fully lit. The result was a tight and controlled performance, supported by excellent comic timing and a bold, psychedelic 1960s set.
The term concluded with the wholeschool production of The Tempest, bringing together just under 40 pupils. Not staged here since 1990, this reinterpretation placed the action in
Lucia Quinault( CoRo, 99-) and Fleur Smith( CoRo, 25-) battle it out as Helena and Hermia, with two bemused Cookites playing Demetrius and Lysander
a crumbling theatre, where Prospera’ s magic became theatrical illusion. Eva Crouch( as above) led with a compelling performance as the fading director at the centre of it all, while Ariel was split into three distinct RGB spirits and Caliban, Toby Burrell( H, 22-), appeared as a patchwork figure, pieced together from the remnants of past productions. Max Franzese( F, 24-) and George Sinclair( Coll, 24-) brought warmth to the young lovers, and throughout, the ensemble showed real commitment to the world of the play. It was particularly pleasing to see pupils approach Shakespeare with such energy and confidence; an energy and confidence echoed by the motley crew of dons and pupils who, under the inspiration of Nikhil Krishnan( CoRo, 22-) once again celebrated the Bard’ s birthday with panache.
Music Musical OWs should turn to the pages of The Wykehamist( see QR code on page 6 to take you to a digital copy) for superb reviews of the two major events of the term: a performance in the Cathedral of Bach’ s B minor Mass, and the final of the Concerto Competition, which pitched two fine pianists, Ethan Coen( G, 22-) and Laurie Sawbridge( H, 22-) against the rippling clarinet of Winston Chan( Coll, 22-). Laurie was victorious, with a commanding performance, and the school will once again( preceded in my time here by Will Stuart( Coll, 00-05) and Tom Jesty( H, 05-10)) have the pleasure of hearing a pupil playing the darkly emotional Second Piano Concerto by Rachmaninov.
The striking thing about a swift perusal of the Music Diary for Common Time 2026, however, is the sheer number of performances – and this excludes the afternoon informal concerts. The standard of music-making in the regular Chamber Concerts is extraordinary: particular highlights for me were Mozart’ s string quartet K. 458, The Hunt, played with incredible verve and dynamism by a quartet of two MP players and a fourth year, led by Head of Strings Rafael Bolivar( CoRo, 24-) and an astonishing rendition of Poulenc’ s Sextet for Piano and Wind Quintet, played entirely by pupils, and displaying remarkable coordination between the piano and wind parts.
Salve We welcome Charlie Lewis as Head of Economics. He joins us with sixteen years of teaching experience across a range of educational settings, including international and boarding schools. He has an MA from the Institute of Education and has held a number of leadership positions. Charlie is a keen runner and triathlete, but modestly- and usefully- says he will give any activity a sporting chance. We hope he will be very happy here.
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