Education news Sara transforms into matilda on the west end stage
An aspiring actress and dancer from Manchester High School for Girls, 11-year-old Sara Sheen, has been having the time of her life performing in award-winning Matilda the Musical in London’s West End. The musical, created by the Royal Shakespeare Company, is an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s famous book Matilda and is enjoyed by audiences across the world.
Didsbury girl Sara’s love for dancing and singing was well known to her dance teacher at Vale School of Dance, and she recommended her student audition for the lead role of Matilda. After five intense auditions over the summer, Sara was cast in the role she shares with three other girls. Sara explained: “It has been an incredible experience, as I have never done anything like this before. I do two shows per week, and standbys twice a week if the other Matildas are not available. As we are needed so frequently, and my home is far away from London, I share a house with some of the other child actors. We are
looked after by our ‘house mother’, who is really nice! “Doing the show, travelling a lot and getting school work done has been challenging, but worth it. I have met so many interesting people, and one of the highlights has been to know that Stephen Hawking saw me perform. That was surreal! “I love the feeling of being on stage and I wish to carry on with musical theatre or do TV roles and films in the future. Right now though, I am enjoying every minute of my role as Matilda!”
drama in chS Sixth Form’s dnA Theatre and drama students at Cheadle Hulme School (CHS) showed that performance is in their genes during their own Sixth Form-directed production of Dennis Kelly’s DNA. Parents, fellow students and staff filled one of the school’s drama studios to watch the students tell the poignant and hilariously dark tale of a mysterious secret kept by a group of teenagers. Upper Sixth student Eleanor Herbert, who directed the piece, said: “As an arts and humanities student it seems ironic I picked up a play originally entitled Deoxyribonucleic Acid, let alone end up directing it, but I was drawn to the creativity of the script. This process has been incredibly fun and exciting; an experience I have thoroughly enjoyed.”
Combining dramatic skills with dynamic leadership, the students’ play marked the opening of production season at CHS, ahead of senior school play – Jessica Swale’s Blue Stockings. Rehearsals are currently under way for the school’s musical theatre production of Broadway hit 13 in February.
December/January 2016/17 | salutions.co.uk
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