The House Drama feature: Magic, myths & mastery
T his year’s feature on House Drama is a celebration of 32 House plays over four festivals, including Lower School House Drama 2024, staged at the very end of the Summer Term and therefore included in this year’s Alleynian . Lower School House Drama June 2024 Scores of Lower School pupils lit up the EAT at the end of the Summer Term 2024. The theme of ‘magic’ meant every house continuously pulled rabbits of multiple hats to delight and enchant the audience. Our adjudicator, Peter Jolly, began by thanking all the directors. He said; “Taking responsibility and ‘sticking your head above the parapet’ is not an easy thing to do and the pupils who took charge will have learned the elation and frustration of directing.” There were so many memorable moments including Raleigh’s The Witches by Roald Dahl which saw William Beresford in full flight, owning the character of the villainous Grand High Witch which ultimately scooped him the Best Actor Cup. Marlowe’s Encanto involved magic, dance and changes of tempo throughout. There were excellent performances and a real sense of ritual and ceremony. We were whisked from South America to a blasted moor where witches popped up all over the stage like will-o’-the-wisps in Sidney’s Macbeth which was slick and coherent with a powerful performance from Kevin Ceron Usma as Macbeth. Importantly the poetry and rhythms of Shakespeare were used to great effect, engrossing the audience. Kevin and Flynn
Halfweeg were awarded the Best Director Cup for their accomplished creation of atmosphere. In Grenville’s sharp adaptation of Peter Pan, Aarav Pokharna’s beautiful moment of stitching on his own shadow and flying, was rewarded with the Adjudicator’s Cup, while Kit Fisher took home
by Kathryn Norton-Smith, Director of Drama
it created a real impact. Similarly with Stephen Adly Guirgis’ The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Zachy Fleming had a clear directorial vision and the finesse of the concept and design was exiting. Constantine Kane was particularly impressive in his commandment of the space. A shout-out too for the concept of setting Private Lives in Mykonos. Bringing Noël Coward to the modern world amongst the glamour and pretentiousness of Greece’s boujiest island was a brilliant opener for the evening. Coward would have massively approved of this performance – the struts, the eye rolls and Gabriel Todd-Hinton’s sassy hair bang flicks, combined with a brilliant playlist and Michael Iheh’s scene-stealing barman. Calum Skinner crafted a highly stylised version of Alice Birch’s adaptation of The House of Bernarda Alba . The black suit silhouettes and the dynamic lighting that sliced across the stage horizontally were a captivating design choice. Calum was a standout performance in this, encapsulating the pain, anger and bitterness of Alba. He was comfortable in the stillness which is a testament to him as an actor.
the coveted Good Egg Cup for his contribution to the Edward Alleyn Theatre during his time in the Lower School. Upper School House Drama October 2024 With the theme of ‘re-imaginings’, inspired by the Netflix series Kaos which reinvents the Greek myths, USHD 2024 saw the staging of a series of stunningly inventive excerpts all given an original spin. The quality of direction, acting, design and ensemble playing in many cases was exceptional and our adjudicator for the evening, designer and
Lower School House Drama
theatre maker Sophia Pardon noted the daring and bravery in evidence from so many involved. Pardon cited standout moments including Matthieu Perrin’s per- formance in Sea Wall where adopting the Jamie Lloyd microphone perform-
From Shakespeare to Sorkin, House Drama delivered passion and polish
ance technique made the whole piece feel like an intimate confessional. Raw vulnerable and real,
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