Members of the Shiplake community were treated to a double bill showcase on Wednesday 8 February as our thespians in Years 9-13 gave their all and demonstrated their talent on stage.
Years 9-11 worked on a fantastic version of Lewis Carroll's Alice Through the Looking Glass, while the Sixth Formers chose to produce an abridged version of Chekov's The Seagull. The performances took place in the Kenton Theatre in Henley-on-Thames.
Ahead of the main performances, our pupils welcomed primary and prep schools from the local area for a matinée of Alice Through the Looking Glass on the Wednesday morning. Later that evening, the actors would return, along with the cast from The Seagull, to perform in front of staff, friends, and family.
Speaking after the performances, Head of Drama Mrs Farrell said:
‘This year the students voiced their preference that we do a straight play rather than a musical and so we tasked the students to choose the plays they would like to do. This resulted in the wonderful and professional-standard productions of The Seagull and Alice Through the Looking Glass.
Rehearsals without the singing and dancing were more intense and focused and gave the students a taste of another side of the performing arts industry. Staging a full-length play with no musical interludes and retaining audience engagement is no mean feat, and it is a real testament to the dedication and hard work of the students that we were able to create a successful, high-brow evening of theatre for our audiences.
Seeing students who in the past may not have been in the spotlight as their strength is acting, as opposed to singing and dancing, was the real joy for us and ensured that going forward, we as a department create more opportunities to demonstrate the vast and varied range of talent that we have here at Shiplake.'
Alice Through the Looking Glass Cast List
- Pearse Welsh - Alice
- James Hyman - Lewis Carroll & Paper Man
- George Watson - The White Knight & Mr Dumble
- James Bizior - The White King
- D Gemmell - Papa, Goat & Pawn 4
- Felix Collar - The Red Queen
- Henry Jacobs - Miss Prickett, Red Pawn, Pawn 3 & Red Courtier
- Jack Dag - Tweedle Dum & Unicorn
- Sam Murray - Tweedle Dee, Momarath & Servant
- Harry Maher - Mr Deedle, Pawn 2 & Red Courtier 2
- Will Griffith - The White Queen & White Pawn
- Zac Fisher - Mama & Pawn 1
- D Wilson - Reverend Kingston/The Red King
- James Middlehurst - The Red Knight, Countryman & Red Guard
- F Teague - Major Reddington
- Evan Greenway - Lion, Red Courtier 1 & Red Herald
- James Lucking - Mr Humphry/Humpty Dumpty, Train Guard & Referee
The Seagull Cast List
- P Kay - Arkadina
- Max Noakes - Konstantin
- Noah Scotchbrook - Sorin
- Darcey Knight - Nina
- Lewis O’Donoghue - Shamrayev
- Charlotte Garnett - Polina
- Esme Young - Masha
- William Tayler - Trigorin
- A Veitch - Dorn
- Sam Chambers - Medvedenko
- Tom O’Brien - Yakov
Make sure to check out the gallery below, as well as highlight videos of both performances!
