House
Drama
Festival
by
Alastair WoodT
his year the school was
treated to some magnificent
performances in the theatre
as part of the first ever King's
House Drama Festival. Pupils
had been set a task of putting
on a play that ran between 10 and 20 minutes
and had limited technical and budget
resources. To say that King's pupils merely
rose to the challenge would be a gross
understatement. Full houses in the theatre
were treated to some dramatic delights.
King Alfred gave us a clever and funny
adaptation of Roald Dahl's George's Marvellous
Medicine directed by James Fisher, with some
excellent acting from all involved, and a showstealing
appearance by Henry Close as the
granny at the end, which, try as we might, has
been hard to erase from the memory.
Bishop Fox followed with a challenging and
clever play by Oscar Harding, One Way,
following the progress of a series of gay couples
over a few decades. All the actors played their
roles with outstanding commitment and
maturity, and they should be really commended
for this, considering the difficult subject matter.
Carpenter gave us Hannah Cartwright's
Welcome to Coleford, set in a girls' boarding
school, with some fantastic acting and some
memorable performances from Olivia Farmer
and Charlotte Pfaff as the drama teacher.
Meynell took us into the world of Alice in
Wonderland, with an adaptation led by Fleur
Netley, and amazing costumes and make-up by
Sinnie Kaorattana. Alice herself was portrayed
excellently by Rosie Parr, supported by an
outstanding ensemble cast of actors drawn
from all the year groups.
Taylor had devised a clever and intelligent piece
based on the recent tragic events in Haiti,
innovatively staged with a moving story line.
An excellent ensemble cast gave strong
performances, with particular mention going to
Fran Fender's moving portrayal of a victim of
the earthquake.
Tuckwell gave us an adaptation of Multiplex, set
in a cinema, with the ushers as the main
characters. This was simply staged but
theatrically brilliant, with clever use of the
resources available, and featuring an
exceptionally talented cast. Special mention
must go to Jordan Webb's subtle but exceedingly
professional lead, and Sam Merriweather's
unforgettable speech about his secret desires for
Julie Andrews dressed as a nun.
The festival was brought to a close by an
existentialist piece from Woodard, reflecting
pub life and the search for the enigmatic five
kings. A well-timed and funny performance
was complemented by a stand-out portrayal of
a man on the edge from Greg Albery.
There were six individual prizes of a £10
book token, awarded in a variety of
categories.
Best actor - Jordan Webb for his
outstanding performance in Tuckwell's
Multiplex
Best actress - Fran Fender for her moving
characterisation in Taylor's devised piece
Best design - Sinnie for her amazing
costumes, set and make-up for Meynell's
Alice in Wonderland
Most innovative - Oscar Harding for his
writing and direction of Bishop Fox's One
Way
Best technical achievement - Ed Clear for
his lighting operation of all the shows
Outstanding contribution - James Fisher
for his adaptation and direction of King
Alfred's George's Marvellous Medicine
Overall winner - Tuckwell with Multiplex
Aluredian
58
Jordan Webb was
outstanding in
Tuckwell's winning
production of Multiplex