DRAMA
SALESMEN, SLACKERS AND A PSYCHO MEET HISTORY AND HITCHCOCK
The spirit of creativity is alive and well at Dulwich; the ambition, scale and scope of this evening of Upper School House Drama was laudable
the more sympathetic and nihilistic character of George Aaronow. Jonson adapted an extract from the cult film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off , which inspired millions of kids not to take life too seriously. The film depicts the ultimate skive and in this adaptation, Aidan Williams brilliantly captured the faux sickness that Ferris proclaims with his witty asides to the audience explaining his inner thoughts and wily plans, eyebrow firmly raised with a roguish smirk. Michael Bacon as his hapless and gullible mother provided us with some of the best laughs of the evening. Another contemporary film classic was given a theatrical treatment by Grenville, with Joe O’Connor and Patrick Craig adapting a particularly gruesome sequence from American Psycho . At its heart, Bret Easton Ellis’ novel is a caustic satire about materialism and the empty feeling that comes with chasing it. This first- person account of a callous, vain Wall Street yuppie named Patrick Bateman who has trouble coming to terms with his murderous inclinations gave rise to an unsettling performance full of wrought tension from Peter Bristow. Athol Fugard’s Sizwe Bansi Is Dead brought a great climax to the first half with a terrific performance from Darrius Kudiabor-Thompson. This two-hander celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in the darkest days of the apartheid era and it is wholly apt that such fine black actors should seize the platform to expose, some 40 years after its premiere, horrors of racial injustice that are still timely today. Kudiabor-Thompson and Chyaro Hylton skilfully played the chosen sequence to ensure that the characters’ justified anger was constantly juxtaposed with warmth and laughter
to both provocative and moving effect. In the centenary year of one of the bloodiest battles of the First World War, it was entirely fitting that we were treated to an expressionistic and physical interpretation of Frank McGuiness’ Observe The Sons Of Ulster Marching Towards The Somme . There was some terrific design and direction here from Amos Edwards, with backlight and the creation of stark silhouettes of contorted pain and destruction against a fragile billowing parachute silk. All boys played their parts beautifully, displaying great teamwork. This iconic war play is a powerful portrayal of mortality, love and loss and Sidney were justly awarded best play for reminding us of this. Buried is a 2010 English- language Spanish thriller film where, after an attack by a group of Iraqis, the protagonist wakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. The story steadily builds as the tension unfolds throughout, and Raleigh House provided some inventive symbolic staging of the narrative combining effectively with Nathan Emoike’s compelling central performance to shred the nerves in this highly evocative extract. Dan Norton-Smith’s ingenious adaptation and skilful direction of the iconic Hitchcock film North By Northwest for Howard gave rise to some outstanding ensemble-playing,
Upper School House Drama REVIEW
Peter Jolly }¶ Kathryn Norton-Smith
T his year we were treated to diverse and inventive staging of extracts from a range of scripted plays and original adaptations with outstanding performances, direction and production design from every House. The standard was formidable and the boys should be applauded for their skill, attention to detail and generosity of spirit. Mamet’s darkly satirical Glengarry Glen Ross , staged by Marlowe, set a high standard for the evening with deft direction and acting from Barnaby Mills and simple and effective staging that was enhanced by Luke Greig’s digital animation. The cast conveyed the desperation of the sleazy real estate salesmen through the swift acerbic stichomythic exchanges and we had a notable performance from Matt Tyson who added poignant depth to
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