Drama

The Addams Family

Our musical for 2021 was the slightly off-the-wall The Addams Family, a comedy full of dark humour in which Wednesday Addams, having fallen in love with a ‘normal’ boy invites him and his family around to dinner at the Addams’ house. In an attempt to Covid-proof the production, the central roles were double cast, and a large ensemble of dead ancestors were presided over by Uncle Fester, who narrated and commented on the action. There were some standout performances from both Thomas Crook-Taylor and Malachy O’Callaghan who played

Gomez on alternate nights, and moments of pure genius from Llewellyn Evans, whose Uncle Fester was played with humour and a considerable amount of eccentricity. The musical was extremely well received, with Wednesday’s first solo Pulled and Uncles Fester’s The Moon and Me generating large laughs each evening. The considerable ensemble of dead ancestors were played by a range of Year 9 to 13 students and performed with energy and focus. This was the musical comedy production we didn’t know we needed as we emerged from the dark depths of the pandemic, and it was a real panacea for the soul.

Rhian Orzel Head of Drama

The Exam and Discontented Winter: House Remix

Throughout the Lent and Summer Terms, our Years 9,10 and 12 students were rehearsing for two separate plays. The Year 9 group were hard at work on The Exam by Andy Hamilton whilst the Year 10 and 12s were busy preparing for Discontented Winter: House Remix by Bryony Lavery. The Exam is a funny, fastmoving piece that focuses on three students who are resitting exams at the same time. The dialogue and character interplay in this production were firstrate, with superb ensemble work across the whole cast as they told the story not just of the students and the pressures they face but also the hopes and dreams of their parents, as well as some staffroom shenanigans! Discontented Winter takes us back in time to a world in which technology and chaos meet self-serving royalty. The students dived into the anarchic style of the play, filling rehearsals with bold, brash characters and bringing this modern day Richard III story to life with energy and invention. The cast of characters were imbued with attitude and the brilliant physical performance skills of the students flourished as they worked hard to prepare for what was one of the busiest, most high-octane productions ever seen on the Redgrave stage. These two exciting but very different plays were performed on the same stage over two nights and were well attended by staff, students and performers’ families.

David Saunders