57
Aluredian
T
his year the school was
treated again to some
magnificent performances in
the theatre as part of the
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 which
eclipsed what had been a brilliant inaugural
competition the year before.
King Alfred impressed with an excellent
rendition of the opening scene of Richard III,
complete with that most difficult of
soliloquies 'Now is the winter of our
discontent'. They rose to the occasion with
modern military dress making the piece more
relevant, and an outstanding performance
from James Fisher as the king himself with
able support from most notably Alex Grace
and Rob Cameron.
Bishop Fox were graced with another original
piece, written, directed by and starring Oscar
Harding. A montage of the best of Italian
gangster movies, La Famiglia was a slick
piece of writing, directed with great skill and
innovation. Outstanding performances from
Harry Heal, Tom Farrow and Angus Urquhart
sealed what was to become the winning
entry.
Carpenter gave us a piece that was a retelling
of some of our great fairytales with a
definite nod to the Shrek movies. Strong
direction from Giulia Roggia was ably aided
by good performances from Charlotte Pfaff as
Puss in Boots and a great comedic
performance from Imogen Segrave with
special mention for the impressive 'trees' in
the woods!
Meynell's piece The Exam looked at a subject
which was very familiar to much of the
audience. This was a well-directed piece,
which was slickly produced with excellent
comic timing and use of the stage. Special
mention goes to Emily Albery, Charlotte
Smyth, Rosie Parr and Ellie McLean who led
in an incredibly talented ensemble.
Taylor gave us a piece of nonsense rhyme
from Dr Seuss. Excellent design underpinned
a strong comedic performance with some
very tricky lines, special mention going to
Gussy Hydleman, Alicia Mileham, Joan
Middleton, Kitty McIntosh and Lucy Dunham.
Tuckwell impressed with an original piece
from an idea by Jordan Webb. Following the
story of a teacher who set out to teach his
class about the rise of fascism, this was a
thought provoking and
impressive piece of
theatre. Notable
performances were
delivered by Hamish
Barclay, Joe Merriweather,
Hayden Tyler and Jordan
Webb, who led an
incredibly strong cast.
Woodard set their sights
high with a re-telling of
The Fellowship of the
Ring in 20 minutes and
somehow got away with
it! This was a masterpiece of comic timing,
ably directed by Greg Albery, with memorable
performances from Josh Stickland, Archie
Watts, and most especially Paddy Cartwright
as Gandalf himself.
Following the festival, six individual prizes
of a £10 book token were awarded in the
following categories.
Best actor - Hamish Barclay for his
performance in The Wave
James Fisher for Richard III
Best actress - Emily Albery for her
excellent performance in The Exam
Best design - Taylor house for their
overall design
Most innovative - Jordan Webb with his
original idea for The Wave
Best technical achievement - Emily
Dalwood for her sound operation
Outstanding contribution - Greg Albery
for Woodard's The Lord of The Rings
Overall winner - Bishop Fox La Famiglia
House
Drama
Festival
by
Alastair Wood
Giulia Roggia in Carpenter's
re-telling of fairy tales