Drama
Academic Drama has existed for just four years at Solihull, but the Drama and Theatre Studies students have produced a bewildering array of original and experimental performances in that time. Many students start the A Level course with little if any experience of drama, yet by the second term are producing public performances for examination. This year we have been blessed with two extremely able and committed year groups who have produced some of the best work to date.
The Christmas term saw three devised productions by the Upper Sixth. These are entirely original pieces of drama, scripted, rehearsed and performed by the students themselves. One group produced a visually stunning and effective exploration of the theme of war, while another experimented with an anarchic, Brechtian style performance based on the concept of ‘Sliding Doors’, where the possibilities life has to offer us were examined. The final devised piece had a topical, Christmassy feel to it with a Scrooge-type figure learning to accept his mistakes. Pursued by the eerie, hooded figures from the Ministry, he was forced to examine his life in short, stylized episodes. The standard of performances in all three pieces was accomplished and impressive.
In the Easter Term, the new Lower Sixth had the chance to put into practice all they had learned so far and rehearsed for several weeks to produce two public performances. The first, ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ by Bertolt Brecht, took place on a mock up of a London city street, complete with a Tube Station through which the audience entered. The cast displayed extraordinary confidence in their informal and unscripted improvised interaction with the bemused audience who found themselves in the heart of the action! The lighting, set and costume designs for this piece were all done by the students themselves. The second performance was an edited version of John Godber’s ‘Teechers’ which used the new George Hill building as an experimental performance space. The play was slick, funny and tested the multi-role skills of the cast to the limit.
The Easter Term was also the final opportunity for the Upper Sixth to show what they were made of! The examination requires students to create workshop productions of a published text and the students chose ‘Animal Farm’, ‘Bouncers’ and ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’. Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’ produced some of the most amusing animal characterizations – particularly Moses the evangelical raven (played by Christopher Clarke) and the pigeon (courtesy of Jack Williams’ hand!). ‘Bouncers’ was another of John Godber’s plays and the menacing yet slightly pathetic figures of four nightclub bouncers examining city night life was handled with real maturity by a cast of four, who were required to play up to three different roles each. The key to the success of this piece was the careful choreography and comic timing of the delivery. Finally, the adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Dream’ provided an athletic and symbolic vision for the audience. The choreography was beautifully observed and the group chose to concentrate on the tangled web of relationships in the play.
In addition to this, the Theatre Studies students found time this year to take part in the School play and Musical and even direct members of the Lower School in original versions of well known fairy tales. A busy year indeed!
Mrs L M Fair