December 2015
From The Principal Welcome to our new look December edition of St. Mary’s Matters. As you will see in the pages that follow, we have had another very busy term and our pupils have achieved great success in so many areas. By taking part in a wide range of activities and challenges, our pupils continue to develop their confidence and skills whilst holding true our core values of considering and working with others for the wider benefit of all. Thank you to parents, governors, staff, pupils and our wider community for enabling these successes to become reality. I wish you all a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Michael Kennedy, Principal
Production of Euripides’ Electra is ‘Thrilling & Terrifying’
with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. David said of the play and the pupils that they had ‘created a brilliant production that is truly unique in its fusion of the Classical and the Modern’. Pupils were delighted to also receive well wishes from Mary Beard and Michael Scott, two highly respected academics who commented on how ‘wonderful’ the production was. Electra, originally written in the 5th Century BC, tells the story of Electra and her brother Orestes revenging the death of their father Agamemnon by killing his murderers, their mother Clytemnestra and her new husband Aegisthus. However, in a typically bold move, the action of the St. Mary’s production was moved from classical Greece to the bayous around modern-day New Orleans. The horror movie feel of the production was enhanced by dance and live jazz music which was described as a ‘feast for the eyes’ as well as a cause for reflection on the power of love and the importance of family. Heading the impressive 45-strong cast were Sophie Clarke in the title role, George Clarke as Orestes, Leah Lovelady as Clytemnestra and Sean Dwyer as Pylades. Mrs Moore, Head of Classics, commented: “This production featured some of the most gifted students we have ever worked with so it was a real pleasure for us to direct.
Sophie & George as Electra & her brother Orestes
St. Mary’s College has developed an international reputation for its outstanding modernised productions of Greek Tragedies; and our recent sell out production of Euripides’ Electra, performed in the Stanley Theatre of the University of Liverpool was certainly no exception.
“Thanks to their skill, hard work and commitment, they succeeded in making this ancient play fresh and relevant to a modern audience.”
Our students have been invited to perform in Ancient Olympia in Greece and on the West Coast of America by the University of California thanks to their fantastic reputation for producing exciting and innovative modernisations of Classical Tragedies since 2012 including Medea, Antigone and Ajax. For this production students were thrilled to work with David Siebert, a professional director currently touring
The cast of Electra during their final dress rehearsal December 2015