The Faculty of Mathematics, ICT & Computer Science, 2011-12

Cabaret

Between the 19th and the 22nd of March, the Great Hall was transformed into the Kit Kat club, in 1930s Berlin, for the school musical ‘Cabaret’. A fabulous affair with a wonderful live orchestra, singing and dancing, it proved an enjoyable evening for each audience.

Based on a novel by Christopher Isherwood, the play opened with the American novelist Cliff arriving in Berlin, and followed his love affair with the Kit Kat Club singer Sally Bowles. Around them, Berlin changes as the Nazis gain influence.

The ambitious double casting paid off with fantastic performances from all students with particular mention going to Larissa Schymyck and Lucy Clarke in the lead role of the captivating and inspiring Sally Bowles. Michael Yates and Louis Cokell were superb as the ‘starving’ author Clifford Bradshaw, and both Grace Boyle and James Watson were certainly ‘sitting pretty’ in the role of the Emcee, complemented by the exceptionally talented Kit Kat dancers. The audience were unsettled by the revelation of Ernst’s allegiance - James Curling and Jack Bradfield and were won over by the romance between Schneider - Charlotte Flowers and Eyiara Olugunna and Schultz - George Mesure and Tom Hadden.

All those involved should feel incredibly proud of their achievement and we are grateful to all who attended and supported the show.

The Importance of Being Earnest

This year we were treated to two fantastic performances of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. Superbly directed by Jack Bradfield and Sam Luker Brown, the performance in the Chapel was hugely appreciated by the attending audience. Laughter and applause was a constant soundtrack, as the audience were clearly delighted by the show! Favourite moments include Matthew Roberts’ terrifying Lady Bracknell questioning Julian Wickert’s Earnest to see if he is marriage material; Larissa Schymyck and Emily O’Malley as Gwendolyn and Cecily, arguing extremely politely about a spade; James Watson’s arrival as the dapper, but imaginary and dead, brother; his wooing of Cecily and his discovery that Colm is her dream man; Peter Debenham’s Miss Prism flirting with Fergus Macdonald’s Rev. Chasuble and the exotic facial hair of Christy Hinchliffe and David Van Egghen’s butlers.

This was a very special production owing much to the mixture of year groups involved, and the extraordinary talent of the directors. We can’t wait to see what they do next.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

Following the success of ‘Playboy of the Western World’ last year, Fintan Calpin again assumed the role of director in a production of Brecht’s ‘The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui’ on Wednesday 19th December. Chosen by Caspar Smart, this challenging political allegory about Hitler’s rise to power was rendered entertaining by the very strong cast, with particular mention going to Max Kennedy for his outstanding performance in the title role. The play was well supported by fellow students and parents, who enjoyed working out the links between the characters in the play and their counterparts in Nazi Germany.

Playwriting group

As part of the National Theatre ‘New Views’ play writing competition, The play writing group recently went to The National Theatre to see ‘Port’ by Simon Stephens. ‘Gallows Humour’ written and directed by Jack Bradfield (11L) and Samuel Luker Brown (11L) and Fintan Calpin’s (12F) ‘Kunsthal’ were both performed by students as part of English and Drama week. Well done to all students involved!

Lower School Drama

Students in Year 9 and 10 performed ‘Lord of the Flies’ on Tuesday 2nd The boys created a chilling atmosphere for the audience as they watched them descend from familiar, well-behaved students, into savagery and murder. The boys embraced their characterisation, perhaps with a little too much enthusiasm. They created a very entertaining evening for us all.

Year 11 Drama

The Year 11 Drama GCSE performances took place this term in front of an external moderator. After watching ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead’, ‘The Pillowman’, ‘Every Good Boy Deserves Favour’ and ‘Waiting for Godot’ the moderator congratulated the boys for performing what he described as ‘real plays’.