The Drama Department organised two plays in one day on Wednesday 24^th September, seeing ‘Dracula’ at the Lyric Hammersmith followed by ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in London’s West End.

The Gillian Lynne Theatre, named after the dancer and choreographer acclaimed for smash-hits such as ‘Cats’, ‘War Horse’ and ‘School of Rock the Musical’ is famous for being the first West End venue to be named after a women. The 1,300 seat auditorium was packed for our students who thoroughly enjoyed watching the story of Satsuki and Mei, two children relocated to the countryside during their mother’s recuperation. They discover a whole new world in their unfamiliar surroundings, including magical creatures, woodland spirits and the ancient protector of the forest, ‘Totoro’.

Also exploring the otherworldly, Morgan Lloyd Malcolm’s ‘Dracula’ offered a new perspective on Bram Stoker’s thriller, exploring the female voices at the heart of the classic tale. Mina Harker, a schoolteacher instrumental in Dracula’s original destruction, recounts her version of his journey but with unexpected consequences that have the audience on the edge of their seats!

Drama Scholar, Elouisa (Year 10), enthused, “I loved seeing Dracula because it was a really great experience and it was very cool how they made it more scary with the lighting. Although I was usually the only one screaming! I loved Totoro because it was so fun and very cool. They had some very interesting set designs and the puppets were very cool.” Classmate Isi added, “I enjoyed Dracula the most as it was really spooky and utilised special effects to tell a truly enthralling story. Drama trips are so important as not only do they display and expose young performers to different theatre styles but they also let members of the Drama community spend time together and bond.”  Ria concluded, “I enjoyed watching ‘My Neighbour Totoro’ the most because I thought it was interesting to look at the way the actors changed, and with the worksheet it made me notice smaller details and the way the actors moved and changed their body language in certain scenes. Drama trips are valuable because it means we can learn more about how the professional actors perform and what techniques we can use in our acting for the future. It also helps us learn how to assess actors, learn about lighting and also find out more about different genres of plays.”

Head of Drama, Jessica Wittert van Hoogland, commented “The two productions were chosen to further learning in Drama, inspiring students and providing an opportunity to see exciting approaches to theatre and performance. All Drama students will have to respond to a live theatre question in their written examination therefore the opportunity to experience and analyse live theatre is invaluable.”

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