puppet and selecting a particularly tall actor as the BFG himself, the strikingly angular Ned Wildgoose Bullock. Ryaan Mansur as the eponymous Danny, The Champion of the World charged the atmosphere with thwarted ambition, tugging at heart strings. Sidney’s cast was strong overall with spirited performances by Jonny Brearley as Dad, Charlie Humphreys as Charlie, Jay O’Connor as the fetching Mrs Clipstone and Leo Milne as Sergeant Samways. Drake’s The Twits re-established the more frothbuggling side of Dahl as the Mugglewump monkey family aimed for freedom and husband and wife strove to out-humiliate each other. Spike McGrath (Mr Twit) and Abseylom Beniyam (Mrs Twit) proved a perfect match; when she served him worm spaghetti, malicious glee gleamed in her eyes. Mackenzie Laban provided a fine piece of narration whilst the Birds fluttered endearingly in the balcony. Fantastic Mr Fox by Howard brought the inebriated Rat (Ben Blacknell), carefully feminine Mrs Fox (Max Hamilton), resourceful Mr Fox (Jake Connellan) and Boggis, Bunce and Bean, those ecologically ignorant farmers, entertainingly to the stage. In Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator there was assiduous attention to detail on the part of directors Aiken Furlong and Lawrie Beckett. In an acting area dark except for the tight-lit square of the lift, Willy Wonka (Alfie Cook), elegantly clad in scarlet tail coat, elevated Charlie and his grandparents to new heights before a slick transformation into gangsters. Finally, there was The Giraffe, The Pelly And Me, which Jed Burge-Thomas (Marlowe) riotously recreated and for which he deservedly won Best Director. The actors revelled in every moment of being their characters, particularly Roddie Turner as Billy and William Lord’s priceless Mother. Yet one performance dazzled in sheer bravery: Toby Evans’ virtuoso rendering of the diamond-addicted Duchess of Hampshire was phizz-whizzing! It had proved an exhilarating evening, no one muggled their lines and Matt Jessup, OA, was joyful in his adjudication. A veteran of this very competition, he commented that three years at Drama school had not helped him master the art of acting drunk or using a pillow as well as our young actors. The inaugural presentation of the Jarman Award for a Star of LSHD went to Jesse Lanchester (Howard), Boggis in Fantastic Mr Fox . It was he who biffed Bean with his pillow-paunch: only a second’s business, but what stage craft! The Drama Department awarded the Good Egg Cup to Alex Whitwell
Every scene had its own magical moments
(Sidney) for his determined work behind the scenes in directing Danny, The Champion of the World . After much deliberation, Matt decided on James and the Giant Peach , so disarmingly directed by Max Rowley-Sanchez, as the Best Play. Jumpsquiffling gratitude is due to all the Housemasters and members of the Theatre team who enabled this gloriumptious success!
110
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker