Stuff I Buried In A Small Town

May 2010

This was a tour-de-force production! Directed by our extremely talented gap-year student, Cassandra Bending, the young cast of ‘Stuff’ dealt with a range of weighty issues. Predominant among them was the issue of refusing to succumb to peer-pressure and preserving integrity by remaining true to one’s self in the face of unbearable pressure.
The quality of the ensemble playing was remarkable, with all 37 cast members working hard to support the action at all times.  This was a testament to what young people can do when the bar is set very high and the expectation is unwavering and was truly Hurst

AS Monologues

May 2010

This is a fairly new component of the syllabus and involves LVI students performing a range of monologues to an audience. They must choose the play they wish to perform an extract from and then submit to the examiner a rationale for their style of interpretation. This then forms the criteria that they will be judged against. The evening held such delights as The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, Macbeth, The Dresser and two of Harold Pinter’s plays.

GCSE performances

May 2010

This was the Vth form Drama students’ last chance to bag top marks for their performances for the Drama GCSE.  Audiences were treated to a range of pieces inspired by J M Barrie’s Peter Pan, Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus, Alan Bennett’s The History Boys and Noel Coward’s Private Lives.

Visit to RSC - Stratford-Upon-Avon

May 2010

The Drama department runs “Shakespeare” trips annually, which alternate between the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-Upon-Avon. and Shakespeare’s Globe in London. This year it was the turn of Stratford with performances of Romeo and Juliet and Antony and Cleopatra. Sixth Form Drama students will have to compare the production they saw with the one that, based on their research, would have been most likely to have taken place in the 1600s when the plays were first performed. Students were also treated to a walking tour of Shakespeare’s Stratford, seeing his birthplace, grave and many other fascinating sites of interest.

Lysistrata workshop

May 2010

Each year as part of the UVI form’s Drama studies, a workshop is held to enable them to rehearse a cast in their production of Aristophanes’ Lysistrata. The final exam requires them to have planned their own production of the play and this is an opportunity to try out ideas and maybe form new ones with a willing ‘cast’ of volunteers.

Speaking in Tongues by Andrew Bovell

review by Nicholas Beeby

Another LVI group tackled Andrew Bovell’s beautifully-written play about seven characters with unusually linked lives. 

The play opens with Sonja, having picked up Pete in a bar, taking him to a hotel. Sonja’s husband has likewise picked up Pete’s wife and taken her to another hotel. We see both rooms on the stage at the same time and hear both conversations overlapping in ridiculously complex exchanges. Both men meet and both women meet later in situations that resolve the messes of their marriages in disastrous fashion, yet in a manner satisfying to the audience.

In the second Act, analyst Valerie deals with a patient she does not like and an increasingly estranged husband. Policeman Leon has to get to the bottom of what might have happened to Valerie after she left her office and did not arrive home.

This grown-up play was delivered with aplomb by a remarkably mature cast, who performed admirably, even though at times it was agonising to watch.

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Blood Wedding

review by Nicholas Beeby

Federico Garcia Lorca’s tale of passion and lust in 1920s Spain was brought to life by members of the LVI in the final week of term in the Drama Studio. A heavy lighting rig helped to create the feeling of oppressive heat (as the audience were genuinely hot) and an omni-present cast gave the impression that members of the community were under constant observation and judgement.

Harriet Warren’s sulky bride gave herself reluctantly to a callow bridegroom (Joshua Fowler), when she was clearly only interested in her former suitor, the manly Leonardo (Benjamin Quayle). The audience’s hearts genuinely bled for Leonardo’s hapless wife (Anna Turzynski) as she had to stand by and watch her philandering husband make a fool of her. Powerless members of the family (Beatrix Waggott, Jasmin Upton and Jack Dunckley) watched helplessly on as the two lovers set off on a path of self-destruction that could only end in disaster, interestingly at the hands of an old woman (Annie Rawlins): Lorca’s device of Death personified. A mature and sensitive production that did credit to all members of the company.

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West Side Story

review by Jasper Pickering

At this time each year, students from every year group gather together to put on the Lent Term musical. Following on from the successes of Les Misérables, Godspell and last year’s The Sound of Music from last year, West Side Story proved to be the latest triumph from the unstoppable duo of Messrs Beeby and Matthews.
The story follows the storyline of Romeo and Juliet: a young couple from rival factions fight for their love amidst the hate and violence from their respective gangs. Written in 1957, it remains a classic, with brilliant composition combining Latin music with modern Jazz.
The orchestra of more than 20 played excellently and was wonderfully conducted by Mr Matthews. The set was polished, with period detail, such as the billboards and Coca Cola advertisements, giving the play a much denser atmosphere.
Of course, this would all mean nothing without the literally all-singing and all-dancing cast. Everyone had a part to play but special mention goes to Amy Shouler as Anita, and to the leads, Dominique Hawken  and Charlie Finnamore. ‘The Jets’ delighted audiences with their pleasing performance of  ‘Gee, Officer Krupke’. Clearly a great deal of effort went into this production and Hurst will be glad to see more of its kind in future. The Hurst Musical seems to get bigger and better with every passing year. Congratulations to everyone involved in this one.

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Private Peaceful

review by Sophie Bexon

Michael Morpurgo’s Private Peaceful is set in WW1and tackles the difficult subject of soldiers accused of cowardice and tells the story of the Peaceful brothers from their childhood in the English countryside to the terror of the trenches. Every scene carried emotional impact, whether young romance as seen in their relationship with the kindly Molly to the fear and horror of their grim life at the front. James Hammond and Charlie Oldham, as the brothers, displayed a wide range of emotions and were convincing throughout.

It was an inspired move to use a puppet in the role of Tommo, which was convincing to the audience as a real child.  James Hammond controlled and acted through the puppet effortlessly and with great skill. 

As a whole the company worked well together and created strong atmosphere that brought the play to life.  The ensemble at one point came together to create a train brimming with movement and sound effects, which was very effective. 

It was very moving in places but also cleverly had moments of humour and warmth, all created by an excellent cast.

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Thérèse Raquin by Emile Zola

review by Charlie Shotton

Zola’s tragic story reveals the contrast of love and hate, and the fine line that separates the two.

The set was superbly put together as a small apartment above a shop in 1860s Paris, and the use of the one room for the entirety of the play served to concentrate the drama more.

Thanks to this setting and the proximity of the actors, the audience felt thoroughly immersed in the events that unfolded. Having the characters in position at the beginning was very effective, especially for the character of Camille (Zack Pinsent), who was instantly established with the audience.

The effective and poignant comic relief, provided by Jasper Pickering and Gherardo Di Nardis, as Grivet and Michaud respectively, amused the audience without detracting from the severity of the play. Harriet Warren was a beautifully poised and dour Thérèse, while Shell’s Elsa Noad provided a delightful contrast as the coquettish Suzanne – one to watch for the future!

Also of note was the effective and moving portrayal of Laurent by Ben Quayle.

This thought-provoking piece, directed by Tim Jackson, was portrayed with energy and spirit and left the audience with a profound emotional message.

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Boeing Boeing

review by Amy Shouler

Directed by Olivia Beeby and Stephanie Liddell as part of their GCE ‘Extended Project’, a small and talented cast delivered a show-stopping production of Boeing Boeing by Marc Camoletti and Beverley Cross.

Each member of the cast delivered the fast-paced, witty lines with confidence and precision. Timing is key to this play and the crisp performances showed that the directors had paid close attention to this. Jack Leaver delivered a tremendous performance as the callous Bernard, complemented by witty improvisation. Ed Zeidler captured the naiveté of Robert and seemingly effortlessly delivered his hilarious lines. The girlfriends successfully established themselves as three very contrasting, yet strong characters. Whether a rather energetic entrance into Bernard’s flat, posing provocatively in front of Robert or simply transforming into an Italian princess, each performed with a perfect, slick quality. Finally, Jasmin Upton’s portrayal of the moody Bertha was sensationally executed and certainly created much laughter in the audience.

The cast’s achievement with such a short rehearsal period was amazing . Their jaw-droppingly comical performances makes it a wonder they managed to keep their composure on stage. Boeing Boeing should go down as another of the greats in the long line of Hurst productions.

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