Junior Play triumph

This year’s Junior Play, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) was both impressive and hilarious in equal measures. The roles of the narrators, played by Harry Cook, Lawrence Nemi-Clover and Will Jonas held the production together. Their hard work and a multitude of rehearsals paid off in the final performances when they held the audience's attention brilliantly. They showed their true versatility as actors, demonstrating true skills in performing both verse and prose, hilarious improvisation and strangely convincing rhythmic gymnastics.

Some of the most engaging and exciting moments were those when all of the boys worked together on the stage as a 20 piece ensemble. Performing an amalgamation of Shakespeare's comedies and a rugby inspired 'Histories' sequence, the cast proved their abilities as collaborative and responsive performers. The second half contained audience interaction, something which is not always easy to control or predict, but the cast, lead at this point by Charlie Fairclough Wood, effortlessly got the audience up on stage, joining in and getting involved.

A special mention has to be given to Tom Ewart Smith, for an unforgettable one line cameo as MacDuff. To Archie Cripps, Hugo Blanchard and Harry Murray for their hard work in translating Othello into a rap, and to Will Loughlin and Billy Mutoti, for presenting a Hamlet and Ophelia relationship that was worthy of the RSC.

The cast worked incredibly hard through the process, often giving up four evenings a week along with a big chunk from their Sundays. They exercised their performance skills as well as their talents in devising and creating performance, meaning that a large amount of what the audience saw was created by the boys themselves.

Rosie Thomas
Drama Department