Junior Show - The Odyssey

The fifteen Lower School boys that made up the cast of the Junior Show this year, had the daunting task of creating a production of one hour in length, almost totally from scratch, in a little under five weeks.  Could it be done, and the show achieve the giddy heights of the quality of previous years, with shows like Lord Of The Flies, Oedipus Rex and The Birds?  The response, based on the evidence of the audience reaction on Friday night, would have to be a resounding “Yes!!!”  The Powell Theatre was completely packed on this night, with boys returning to see the show for the second time and bringing lots of their friends with them!

So why was The Odyssey such a hit?  A stellar combination of high grade acting talent, a very quirky sense of humour (well done Chris Haworth (4e)), masses of energy, a stunning sense of ensemble and some truly breath-taking pieces of physical theatre.  Add to this mix, Billy Mutoti’s (3e) dance moves with a fantastic soundtrack, and you can perhaps start to understand why this dynamic cocktail of theatrical talent and team work could not possibly fail to entertain.

I hope you were able to see the show but if not, keep your eye out for future devised performances and for this group of performers because if this is the level of acting and ensemble work they are coming out with now, they are going to be absolutely incredible by the time they get to Senior School.

Ian Reade

Head of Drama