Engaging and enthralling performances in the drama assessed pieces

Lower Sixth and Fourth Form Drama classes went head-to-head in a performance evening that engaged and enthralled the audience.

Up first were the Lower Sixth Drama students. They performed their assessed piece which was an irreverent take on Chekov’s ‘The Seagull’ inspired by the work of the Kneehigh Theatre Company. Catchy musical numbers ('Build Me Up Buttercup', 'Remember Me') contrasted well with the highly amusing take on the 'play-within-play' section. The cast of Anna Leigh-Pollitt, Millie Stokes, Jamie Lunt, Maddie Disney and Frankie Cragg all gave strong performances which is an excellent start to their A Level course.  

In contrast, the Fourth Form drama class performed ‘Zero For The Young Dudes!’ by Alistair McDowell: a bleak and moving account of a dystopian future. A mud-filled stage, which was fenced off from the audience by floor-to-ceiling chicken wire, set the appropriate ominous tone for the piece. All of the cast gave mature, sophisticated performances, with particular stand outs being Conor Mather, Myles Billington, Ethan Cox, Ollie Hoskins, Sam Rowe and Alex O'Connell. This was probably the best performance by a group of Fourth Formers in of the ten years I've been at Reed's which bodes well for their assessed pieces next year. This production will also be restaged as part of the Woking Drama Festival in October.  

Tim Silk, Director of Drama