H ouse Drama provided some of the most formative moments of my time at school, affording me the opportunity to collaborate with my peers in creating something for creating’s sake – not with the pressure of an assessed performance or a school play. It was a time when you could ‘fake it till you make it’ and realise ‘hey, I actually know what I’m talking about!’ or, just as often, ‘I have no idea what I’m on about’. That incremental process of practical learning, in collaboration with friends and peers in different year groups, ultimately led to some inspiring and thrilling experiences that are lodestars in my personal journey towards being a theatre maker and storyteller today. Adjudicating this year’s competition, I was struck by the boldness, ingenuity and team spirit of all of the perfor- mances, and I hope that those who threw themselves into these eight diverse pieces will reflect on the evening as I look back on my Middle School House Drama of 2013. So, to the night in question… A large, all-star group of players ( Grenville or the England national team? You decide!) kicked things off in extracts from James Graham’s 2023 smash-hit Dear England , complete with a cast that comfortably filled the some- times-cavernous EAT stage. House Drama is all about surprises, showing the audience things they’ve never seen before and watching talented young people realising the impossible or, at the very least, the improbable. Stretching the boundaries of both possibility and probability resulted in a rapturous round of applause for Theresa May – surely the greatest testament to the charm of Grenville’s perfor- mance and the goodwill they earned from their audience. Plaudits to Arun Slatter and Albert Challacombe for their Year 9 trailblazing performances. MIDDLE SCHOOL HOUSE DRAMA It was a true privilege to be invited to adjudicate this year’s Middle School House Drama, eleven years after last playing a part in the competition, writes Ollie Norton-Smith OA
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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