The Wykehamist January 2020 Edition 1487 | Page 20

DRAMA
The Merchant of Venice: School Production
CARSON WHITE (COLL)
There are two ways to rehearse for a play: either you have a long period, with sporadic rehearsals and people
slowly learning their lines, or you can blast out a play, rehearsing every evening and weekend for about five
weeks. The second way is a slightly terrifying experience but the one I’m more familiar with at Winchester. You
never really know how the play will turn out and the sense and meaning of it fall into place in the final week. You
end up living and breathing your character. You can’t stop pondering your character’s motivations or the best way
to block a scene, during lunch, on you way to lessons, or even in your dreams.
To do all of this with a full-length Shakespeare play was even crazier than normal. But truly, The Merchant
of Venice was a wonderful experience, made so much easier and more fun by the amazing staff who help us.
Mr Baddeley and Mr Dakin guided us through all the difficulties of the language, Mrs Kight and Mrs Webster
made us look very dapper in our costumes and makeup, and the backstage team made sure nothing went wrong.
Without them we’d flounder. The hard work is always worth it - taking that final bow on the last night, you feel
you’ve really achieved something, knowing the production is of a really high standard.
The most wonderful thing about doing theatre here is the camaraderie that exists between the actors. This
amazing atmosphere encourages pupils to do play after play, to sign up for the LAMDA program here, to do the
monologue showcases, to direct their own plays, and to do make-up or tech. Drama can be a huge commitment
but the rewards, both throughout the process and seeing the final performance, are immense.
Murder Is Easy: Cook's House Play
PATRICK WHELAN (C)
I was fortunate enough to be able to perform in the Cook’s house play: Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie.
Niall Tainton was directing, steering us to success using his years of experience on stage. The murder mystery is
set in a small English town, where there are many suspicious, accidental deaths; leading outsider, Luke, to believe
there is a serial killer on the loose. I played one of the two police officers, Constable Reed. The show, I am told, was
thoroughly enjoyable for audiences on all nights with thanks to the acting talents of the entire cast, but in parti-
cular, the leads: Jeshiah Murray (Luke Williams), Oscar Vogel (Bridget), Khalid Alao (Miss Waynflette) and Will
Richards (Lord Eastefield). The technical team also played a significant part making sure the actors roles were
made considerably easier. Special thanks to Mr Baddley, Miss Kight and Mr Cunio for organising, clothing and
building the set for us.
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DRAMA
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