Our Drama Department treated us to an incredible rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream last Wednesday and Thursday. Our First and Second Year students wowed audiences both on and off stage, demonstrating impressive performance, technical and creative abilities!

There was an extraordinary amount of talent in the theatre as audiences were immersed into an intense story of unrequited love and magic set in the woodland realm of Fairyland. With characters divided into four groups - the Mechanicals, the Fairies, the King’s party and the Chorus - the characters’ intertwining storylines are intrinsically connected by the wedding of Duke Theseus and Hippolyta. While all four groups had been rehearsing separately since January and only began rehearsing together a few weeks ago, this was undetectable under the spotlight, as characters overlapped worlds in harmony.

We were joined in the audience by two local primary schools, following previous Enrichment Week collaborations for a Theatre In Education project. Mr Garbett, Director of Drama, spoke about the importance of College drama “reaching beyond the school site.. it only feels right to share the production with them and hopefully inspire potential future thespians!” Hearing echoes of ‘wow’ as our guests entered the theatre, which continued throughout the performance, it is safe to say that our Drama Department succeeded in sparking their inspiration.

It quickly became apparent, through mastered choreography and stunt work that the cast brought a wide range of talents and experience to the production, including dance and sport. When asked about casting decisions, Mr Garbett commented, “For all our productions, we cast students where we believe that they are going to be the most comfortable as well as playing to their strengths.”

It wasn’t only on stage that students showed theatrical flair. A number of students made up the backstage crew, including First Year students who operated the lighting and sound for the whole production, with several actors also creating and executing the make-up design too! We are fortunate that our Drama Department is able to teach and support such techniques through weekly clubs, such as Technical Theatre and Theatre Make-up, and we look forward to seeing students returning to support future productions as they continue to develop these skills.

A huge congratulations to everyone involved in this outstanding production. We are always so proud of how much our students are able to achieve, and we look forward to our talented Music and Drama Departments coming together for the whole-school musical, The Addams Family, in early 2027.