It was with some trepidation that in September 2005, Messrs. Melling, Perrins, Hadley, and Holden, embarked upon producing the “Best circus show Solihull School had ever staged”
(M.De Minkwitz).
Auditions soon proved that a vast amount of talent was on offer throughout the school, but in particular in the Sixth Form. It was lovely to be able to include so many girls from the Third Form too, whose enthusiasm was infectious. A hectic and wholly consuming rehearsal schedule was drawn up, to which some paid more attention than others. Much of the production involved dance routines, and Miss Holden was presented with a choreographer’s nightmare, made doubly difficult by the fact that some members of the cast had two left feet! Individual scenes and songs were rehearsed again and again with the ever effervescent Mr. Perrins, until it was impossible to get through a day without finding ourselves humming along to ‘One Brick at a Time’ or ‘Join the Circus’
In October we held a circus skills training day, run superbly by Jay Linn. The cast were treated to a display of tantalizing circus skills and were able to try their hand at juggling, the Diablo, unicycling, stilt walking, plate spinning, poi, and for one lucky individual, tightrope walking. It was amazing how quickly some of the cast picked up these new skills although Chris Inns’ first attempts on the tightrope were somewhat wobbly! However, so committed was he, that Chris’ own home was turned into a circus ring as we delivered a tightrope to his house for the Christmas holidays.
As February half term loomed, it seemed impossible that the production would be ready to stage in just over a month. We had not yet seen the set, and had not had chance to rehearse with any of the props. After half term, rehearsing became a full-time occupation. The set arrived two weeks prior to the show, and what a transformation! Within 48 hours, Bushell Hall was transformed into a circus that Phineas T. Barnum would have been proud of. It looked fantastic, professional even, now all we needed was a performance to match. Meanwhile, backstage, Pat Hannant and her team were labouring away tirelessly in a never ending production line of costumes, numbering almost 200, and ranging in size from 4’6” to 9’4” and including clowns, old ladies, period gentlemen, tumblers, strongmen, politicians, and giant beefeaters.
The week of the show arrived about two months too soon, and the staff team started to show signs of sleep deprivation and worry. Not many of the cast appreciated that Mr. Melling is in fact only 23 years old! Last minute adjustments had to be made to the set by the technical team, superbly overseen by Mr. Avery.
Opening night arrived, and Mrs Hadley and Miss Holden shed several pounds racing from dressing room to dressing room convinced that we would never be ready on time. Thanks to a splendid job by Mr. Smith and his able assistants however, a perfectly made up cast were waiting in the wings at precisely the right moment. The opening performance was superb, and whilst of course there were inevitable glitches, it seemed that they were not noticed by the audience who were thrilled with the show. Each of the four nights went from strength to strength, and with almost every evening a sell out, the cast delivered a truly professional performance. It was generally agreed that Friday night’s performance was by far and away the best, made more so by Tom Holden’s late entrance, and Chris’ truly professional improvisations. Our own highlights of the show were Chris’ amazing tightrope walk, every breathtaking second of which was genuine, the giant performance by the Evans twins, Adam Mundy’s spectacular jump from Tom Thumb’s chair, and the visual spectacle of the final number ‘Join the Circus.’
Although there were many times of stress, concern, and anguish, it was a privilege to work with such talented students from across such a vast age range, and it can be safely said that Barnum was indeed the best circus how Solihull School has ever produced.
Mrs R R Hadley / Miss F E Holden