Theatre enrichment students devise and perform 'A Play About Many Things'

Through a series of practical workshops the students began by sharing some of their childhood memories and personal experiences and through these stories an original piece of theatre began to take shape. The cast worked individually and collectively to develop a mixture of monologues, dialogue scenes and stylised sequences to communicate their stories, thoughts and views on a wide range of subjects.

The performance was due to take place in February 2021 and we knew that we would most likely not be allowed a live audience. Director Mrs Foote decided to embrace this from the outset and to create a piece of theatre that could be performed live that would also lend itself really well to the medium of film. Whilst the cast were creating and researching their material they were also encouraged to think how multi-media elements, such as projections and animations, could be included. 

When we were hit with the third lockdown in January, rehearsals for A Play About Many Things continued remotely - this was particularly challenging as some of our students were connecting from far flung parts of the globe and from different time zones. However, the cast were really keen to continue work on this very personal and very unique project.

Backstage and tech students joined the creative process in January (remotely in the first instance and then in person from March) and they helped to create some animated projections, the non-naturalistic set and the lighting design, all of which ultimately contribute to the very visual style of the production.

The performances were finally rescheduled for May and we are delighted to be able to share some production shots with you of this very special and completely unique piece of performance.