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Macbeth Production: 25th & 26th February 2014

Having joined the school as Head of Drama in January one of the greatest pleasures I have enjoyed so far has been working with the cast of Macbeth.

 

Having joined the school as Head of Drama in January one of the greatest pleasures I have enjoyed so far has been working with the cast of Macbeth. This fantastic production drew to a close on the 26th of February; having run for two nights to a packed gym and confirmed everything I thought I knew about drama at Gordon’s School – that we have some very talented and committed students!

The ambitious production was directed by Mr Graham and involved a cast of over 30 students performing an abridged, contemporary version of the play. The gym was transformed with the addition of a traverse stage, which was a first for this space, and although it provided additional challenges for the team of actors, directors and technicians, worked fantastically well with the dark, tense atmosphere of the play as it brought the audience so close to action. 

The remarkable cast of young performers dealt with the difficult language and complexities of the plot admirably. It was a real testament to the talent of the pupils involved, who were able to convey characters and action so clearly and bring real meaning to the challenging Shakespearean text.

With some inspired direction from Mr Graham and skilful acting the eerie and supernatural elements of the play were ably brought to life, from the terrifying witches; cast as grotesque nurses, complete with gory and bloody battle wounds to the ghostly appearances of Banquo and the apparitions; achieved through clever lighting tricks and gauze. This really was a production where lighting and sound effects worked hand in hand with terrific acting to create the full effect.

Praise must go to the two principal actors who played the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth; Alex Copolla and Cecily Brewster-Warner in Year 13 and the other principal actors in Year 13, Will Sidi (Banquo) and Zoe Beels, Sophie Andrews and Yasmin Sheehan (The Witches). These actors brought maturity and depth to the roles and showed ability and skill beyond their years. We shall be very sorry to see such talent leave us at the end of this year. Fortunately, as evidenced so clearly in the rest the cast, we have a rich pool of talent being nurtured in our younger years which will serve the school very well in the future!