A-LEVEL DRAMA & THEATRE YEAR 12 PAN’S LABYRINTH
Bringing the Edward Alleyn Theatre into the summer season with a sprinkle of magical realism, the Year 12 creative adaption of Guillermo del Toro’s spellbinding adventure-fantasy fable of chance and transformation captivated the audience, reports Emma Haxton
I nspired by theatre director Emma Rice’s distinctive style of playful, irreverent ensemble storytelling, the Year 12s decided to breathe new life into a well-known, timeless tale in their original devised adaptation of Pan’s Laby- rinth, presented as part of the A-level course. Fired up by a visit to Rice’s recent production of Blue Beard at the Battersea Arts Centre and her National Theatre produc- tion of Wuthering Heights , the students channelled tropes associated with her theatre practice and wrapped their own vision of escapism and oppression around the film’s narrative of a child on the precipice of adulthood with an ailing parent and the ever-present monstrous Captain Vidal. Our talented Year 12 cohort presented a unique and riveting interpretation which homed in on the fantasy of a child amidst the brutality of post-Civil War Spain. By imagining hard enough, Orfeus, played with an en- dearing light touch by Rufus Angel, conjures portals to take him between real and dream worlds. He encounters the Faun, whom he entrusts to transport him to his un- derworld homeland where he believes he rightly belongs as a lauded prince. Through a series of beguiling quests, Orfeus tries to flee the tyranny of his surrogate father, the pervading sickness of his mother and the building resentment towards his new-born sibling. The tasks drive him to navigate the cancerous Toad, the gluttonous Pale Man and also the moral dilemma of choice between the individual and family. Excellent visual storytelling and playful choreography were on display from this skilled ensemble, including heart-in-the-mouth lifts and spins through the conjured, shifting worlds of the enchanted maze as well as the
aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, with rebels hidden deep in the woods. Throughout, the heartbreaking family drama of pain and loss resonated with the audience. The hypermasculine Vidal, played with wit and flourish by
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THE ALLEYNIAN 712
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