Orchard continued their great run in inter-house events by earning the top prize in the Year 9 Drama Festival last week. The event was a huge success, with boys from all five Houses working really hard to produce some excellent shows.
After a busy afternoon of rehearsals in the Tithe Barn, the guest panel of Mr Darius Bluck, Mr Paul Jones and Mr Chris Alcock took their seats to judge the performances.
Each House created an imaginative storyline and incorporated some brilliant props and costumes to entertain the audience. Everett’s piece received praise from the judges on plot clarity, as they used flashbacks to tell the story of a man feeling guilty having failed to stop the destruction of the nation. Welsh opted for a similarly sobering plot, focussing on a court room trial. Their production was extremely ambitious as it involved asking members of the audience to stand trial. At times there was confusion as characters were unsure of their lines, with the judges suggesting they should have devised a simpler play.
The Skipwith performance was set in an Australian airport, with two criminals attempting to smuggle drugs out of the country. The entire stage was used effectively as the story jumped between different scenes, with the judges deciding it was enough for third place. In second place was Burr, who brought an element of magic to proceedings, showing off a number of tricks. After a slow start, the scene gathered pace with plenty of unexpected events to keep the audience guessing.
Orchard’s show featured job interviews with characters from across the globe. Thanks to some excellent Scottish, German and Chinese accents, the boys had the audience in stitches. The actors exaggerated national stereotypes with the judges praising the memorable characters and interaction with the audience. It was an extremely impressive production, which clearly required a great deal of effort to prepare. The boys' endeavours were rewarded as they were deservedly awarded first place.
