The Lower School Production was back and better than ever for the first time since 2019 with the awesome performances of Grimms’ Fairy Tales on June 16-18th.

From make up to music, scenery to sets, props to performance, our Years 7-9 brought the house down every night! The fairy tales featured Hansel & Gretel, The Golden Goose and Ashputtel.

We asked some of the stars on stage and behind the scenes to tell us all about it:

Ms Craggs, Director

“One of the things I have always loved about theatre is creating magic. That moment when you plunge the space into darkness and put on a spotlight to let the audience’s imagination take hold and allow the stories to unfold. From the start we knew it would be a wonderful journey into the dark and beguiling world of Grimm Tales.

Halted by lockdown and the restrictions imposed on theatre by the pandemic, our students were so excited to be back on the stage and the whole company has been a joy to work with from the first rehearsal to opening night. The collaboration across year groups, the support, respect and kindness they have shown each other, has been remarkable. Their organisational skills and willingness to problem solve, committing time and energy to the process, has been pivotal to the final outcome.”

Minna W, Ashputtel, Year 8

“I have thoroughly enjoyed having the opportunity to be involved in this year’s lower school production.

It has been such an incredible experience and one I will never forget. As soon as I received the greatly anticipated email that told me I got into the production, I was so excited and couldn’t wait to find out what part I had been given. When I found out I had been given Ashputtel, Grimms’ version of Cinderella, I was ecstatic and couldn’t wait to start rehearsing.

I thought the character of Ashputtel really suited me, as I wanted to be able to explore the quietness of her character but be able to express her anguish. The performance came together quickly, with everyone becoming better actors in every rehearsal, and growing into little teams within each play. From the first rehearsal to the final performance, every actor really grew into their characters and became the best they could be. Each play rehearsed separately, and every couple of rehearsals we would do a mini performance. At the start, we weren’t that confident, but it was amazing to be able to watch each play grow and change with time. I was really happy to be able to act in Ashputtel, as I relished the goriness of the play and how dark it is.

One of my favourite parts of this experience has been bonding with the other cast members; the other Year 8s in Ashputtel and the Year 9s who I had never met or known before. An example of a time where our cast really bonded was during the lift. I was really excited to be able to do this as I am quite agile, but I was expecting the lift to be one of the hardest aspects to put into the show. However, even from the first time we tried it, I trusted them completely and it worked almost perfectly, and we bonded more from this point, as we had sort of proved to ourselves that we were doing well. Now, our cast members are good friends. Through this play, we have had so much fun, and we have had so many funny moments, such as when we performed it in comedy style.

I really recommend taking this opportunity to be part of a play, especially since this is after Covid, as it is a chance to make new friends and to get involved. This is also an amazing chance to get involved with the tech. Throughout my time in the play, I have spent lots of time with and have bonded with the costume department. I have seen how hard they work together, and I am so proud of their creativity and cleverness.

I have adored every minute of being part of this play, and I can’t wait to get involved in the next production.”

Johanna K, Cast

“I enjoyed it because of all the new people I got to meet that I probably wouldn’t have become friends with otherwise.”

Maribel B, Cast

“I enjoyed developing my character and seeing the performance progress. I also liked working with people from different years.”

Anna P, Cast

“It’s been a really great experience and I have had a wonderful time. I want to thank all of the crew for their hard work.”

Kiara C, Cast

“Acting in the production is really exciting and has lots of fun opportunities. I want to thank everyone who worked hard for this show.”

Huge congratulations are also due to our amazing technical crew headed up by Mrs Smith and which included hair & make up, lighting, costume, sound and front of house.

Mia M, Stage Manager, Year 7

“Being stage manager had a lot of perks and ultimately was a great experience. Being stage manager meant joining in ultimately ALL rehearsals and taking notes which are used to help teachers and actors remember what to do.

At the later stages, stage managers would help the teachers to organise and help the different groups and actors- this is all after the construction of the set. As stage manager you work with the entire cast and crew to help, and communication is crucial to making sure that everything goes well. All the different stories had such contrast that it felt like being moved into different worlds. My favourite parts of being the stage manager was how it felt like everyone was a family and how I personally got to work with so many different people and form new friendships.

I feel that I definitely learnt how to be more organised and this helped with the role as it was very important. As a Year 7, I recognised sometimes when older girls didn’t listen that the majority of the time, age wasn’t really a big deal or factor in the production.”

Caitlin F-A & Tessa W, Sound

“Whilst doing sound we have learnt a number of interesting things that help produce the technical aspects of a theatre production which are not that obvious to the audience when the play is produced.”

Sofia A, Lighting

“It’s really fun doing tech because I’ve never really done backstage before, and it’s great! I think it’s great how people who don’t like getting up on stage can still get involved and have fun.”

Liliana B, Costume

 “Costume was definitely a challenge, juggling everything but one that I wholeheartedly enjoyed, and I was so lucky to be able to do it with everyone on my team.” 

We look forward to the next Drama Production in the Autumn Term!