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DRAMA & DANCE
Brotherhood conveyed the underlying premise that we are better together
year has seen Lower School pupils attending both Message in a Bottle by ZooNation: The Kate Prince Company, and Nutcracker! by Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. Message in a Bottle took us on the emotional and powerful journey of a village suddenly under siege, seeing three parted refugee siblings escape and step out on their own extraordinary adventures. Set to the music of Sting, the show included a mix of exhilarating contemporary dance, dazzling hip-hop footwork and breathtaking athleticism, telling a vital and uplifting story of humanity and hope. The sweetest of all Matthew Bourne’s productions, Nutcracker! returned to the stage after ten years, demonstrating his trademark wit, pathos and magical fantasy. The story followed Clara’s bittersweet journey from a darkly comic Christmas Eve at Dr Dross’ Orphanage, through a shimmering, ice-skating winter wonderland to the scrumptious candy kingdom of Sweetieland, influenced by the lavish Hollywood musicals of the 1930s. We were lucky enough to have front row seats for Nutcracker! and the pupils were blown away by the incredible skill, stamina and storytelling of the dancers. Looking ahead, we have the Lower School production, Matilda The Musical Jnr , which is currently in full swing for rehearsals, using pupils’ skills in dance, drama and singing. This will be a wonderful collaboration; the Music Department and pupils are very much looking forward to presenting it later this year.
Throughout the last couple of years there seem to have been more ‘online’ performances than ‘live’ ones, but I’m pleased to say this year has seen the opposite. During Founder’s Day 2021, a Year 7 dance piece, Brotherhood , and a Year 8 dance piece, Mad Hatter’s Tea Party , were performed live to parents, pupils and teachers, as well as being live-streamed to the wider College community. Inspired by the ideas of support and unity, of pushing through struggles, and of sharing the burden, Brotherhood conveyed the underlying premise that we are better together. The audience then joined the characters from Alice in Wonderland in their comical, playful and quirky Mad Hatter’s Tea Party , where tea was drunk, cakes were thrown, and the pupils had a marvellous time! Drowning in Plastic was a dance theatre project created by Year 8 pupils in the Michaelmas term, with links to Sustainability Week. Using their plastic waste from home, and drawing on research into ocean pollution, the pupils devised and choreographed some captivating pieces. They transformed the plastic into sea creatures, and their dance movements, puppetry skills and dialogue were all set to atmospheric music, aiming to provoke and inspire change.
As well as pupils having more live performance opportunities, we have seen theatres welcoming audiences back to shows, and this
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