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VALETE
Peter Jolly
ANDREW STOREY
Hawkins and Mel Raido, as well as comedian James McGee and writer Napoleon Ryan. Peter is equally proud of College boys and the girls from JAGS, Sydenham, and Streatham and Clapham High with whom he has worked over the years. During his 35 years at the College, Peter has seen many changes, not least within the Drama Department. It has expanded from being a one-man band to a strong academic department noted for its outstanding productions, with Peter using his diplomatic skills to argue for the theatre to be extended, allowing for dressing rooms, storage, a rehearsal room and a department office. Some 20 years ago he also persuaded a very reluctant committee of Heads of Department to agree to include A level Theatre Studies on the curriculum. The Drama Department now has eight outstanding members of teaching and support staff, offers both GCSE and A level Theatre Studies, and is at the very heart of culture at the College. Peter recalls that many colleagues in the past considered drama an economic black hole and thought the theatre a waste of money. His strength, commitment and determination have changed that perception entirely, and his drive, together with those around him, has led to some of the most memorable moments in the College’s history, from Upper School musicals through to Lower School drama and DUCKS and Junior School plays. It boasts a most impressive back catalogue of actors, directors and writers, including Chiwetel Ejiofor ( 12 Years a Slave ), Rupert Penry- Jones ( Spooks ), Laurie Davidson ( Cats ), Nicholas Galitizine ( Cinderella ), Charlotte Ritchie ( Ghosts ), Adam Kay, Tom Rob Smith and award-winning director Ned Bennett, who, in the Evening Standard, said that his whole career was inspired by his ‘brilliant drama teacher, Peter Jolly, at Dulwich College … an incredible theatre brain and compassionate, all-round legend’.
When you enter the Edward Alleyn Theatre at Dulwich College, there always seems to be a hustle and bustle and, dare one say, ‘chaotic purpose’ from which inspiration and art emerge. It is a space where boys and girls aged 5 to 18 have worked on fascinating projects in collaboration with each other and their teachers over the years, all of which have morphed into wonderful productions that many parents, staff and Old Alleynians have enjoyed. At the very heart of this dynasty and bringing a sense of calmness to proceedings is Peter Jolly OA. Peter first came to the College as a 10-year-old and went on to study Art History at Nottingham University. After teaching for a while in Kingston, he left the world of education to seek fame and fortune in the theatrical world. On running out of money, he returned to Dulwich in 1987 to teach part-time, while producing lighting designs, and overseeing get-ins and get-outs in the professional theatre at the weekends. When the then Head of Drama, Andy Archibald, left, Peter succeeded him on a full-time basis. The first production when he arrived at the College, directed by the irrepressible Maggie Jarman, was the 1960s musical The Fantasticks , which had BAFTA-winning Nigel Harman ( Eastenders ) in the lead role. Soon he began his own productions, including On the Razzle , which he took on tour to Boston and Chicago, Becket and The Sea . However, his first landmark production in the theatre was Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure , for which the theatre was transformed into a naturalistic castle so realistic that one morning the porters were found just sitting and gazing in awe and wonder at the set. This production established the Drama Department at a time when it was considered a sideshow within the College. It contained a star-studded cast including award-winning actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sally
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