In a challenging time for all industries, where all facets of life have had had to adapt quickly, Drama is no different. We have had to ensure that our students’ creativity and expression are still given free rein to develop and thrive. Mr Fewson has some recommendations for you: 

“As shown in last week’s newsletter, we have been able to take advantage of a number of companies placing their greatest works online for public consumption. It may be second to being present in the room but this is an invaluable opportunity for our students to witness shows such as the National Theatre and Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee-Miller, as well as this week’s recommendation – Hamlet starring Papaa Essiedu, directed by Simon Godwin for the Royal Shakespeare Company.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p089zf8r/culture-in-quarantine-shakespeare-hamlet

For those who prefer a lighter take on life, Andrew Lloyd Webber has released By Jeeves!, his and Alan Ayckbourn’s re-working of the stories of PG Wodehouse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWWB2U3mntQ

More of my own recommendations will be publicised on Twitter as they become available.

In addition to this, our Drama scholars have been set tasks that give them the chance to discuss the work in more depth. 

For those of you who may despair at the loss of our Junior production Rainbow’s Ending, you will be pleased to know that the cast will be meeting up over the next week in readiness to rehearse the show online, and we are planning to release it as a radio play in the final weeks of the Summer Term. In the last few weeks before lockdown, rehearsals were shaping up excellently and we did not want this hard work to go to waste. 

The way that the Drama department has adapted to the times with resilience and creativity has been an incredible example of the enduring spirit of the SV community as a whole.

Please watch this space for further announcements and may I wish you all a very pleasant weekend.”