Abbey House Play 'The History Boys'

January 29th 2019

Felix Ormrod (L6b) gives his experience of directing the incredibly entertaining Abbey House play 'The History Boys'...

"After final curtain call and numerous congratulations, it dawned on me that I had actually succeeded in directing and acting in a House Play at Sherborne. Something that had been an ambition of mine from my earliest days at the school - and I had done it - what a tremendous feeling.

I was keen from the very beginning to choose a play with a large cast. I wanted as many Abbey Boys as possible to have the opportunity of being involved. I also knew that a play requiring simple staging would be best, complimenting it with dynamic lighting and sound effects. After a lot of research, ‘The History Boys’ by Alan Bennett seemed the perfect choice. I was very fortunate to have the support and guidance of Miss Thomas, a drama teacher and tutor in Abbey and Miss White who helped with the costumes. I cannot thank them enough for their help.

During rehearsals I was keen not first for the actors to know their lines but to also ‘understand’ their character’s personalities. We talked about showing this through their way of speaking, movement and how they would wear their clothes.

Of course, it wasn’t all plain sailing, understandably some actors weren’t taking it seriously. At one point I walked out of a rehearsal. I kept on remembering what my mother told me, "a bad dress rehearsal meant a good first night", when three pages of script were missed out during our first dress rehearsal!

However, after all that, our production turned out brilliantly. My actors did a first-class job along with a pupil backstage crew. A big thank you to all involved and I look forward to future House Plays."

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